A former Coast Guard officer has been charged with making threats against President Donald Trump, prompting FBI Director Kash Patel to point to a now-deleted Instagram post by former FBI Director James Comey as a contributing factor in the case.

The suspect, Peter Stinson, served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1988 until his retirement in 2021.

During his tenure, Stinson held roles as a sharpshooter and a FEMA instructor.

He is scheduled to appear in federal court for the first time on Wednesday.

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According to federal court documents, Stinson is accused of making multiple threats against President Trump, including references to “86 47,” a phrase that appeared in a controversial post made by Comey in May.

The phrase was included in a photograph of seashells spelling out “86 47,” which Comey posted to Instagram before deleting it a few hours later following public backlash and inquiries from the U.S. Secret Service.

The former FBI director later told MSNBC that the phrase was intended to reference a slang term from his wife’s days working in a restaurant, where “86” was used to mean “to take something off the menu.”

He maintained that the photo had no malicious intent and said, “I regret the distraction and the controversy around it. But again, it’s hard to have regret about something that, even in hindsight, looks to me to be totally innocent.”

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Despite Comey’s explanations and interviews with federal agents, Director Patel expressed concern over the wider consequences of the post.

“This is a guy who threatened President Trump’s life using the ‘86 47’ language,” Patel said of Stinson in comments to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

“Tragically, this case was predictable.”

Patel, who now holds the top position at the FBI, criticized Comey for his actions, stating that they had diverted critical FBI resources.

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“When former Director Comey first pulled his destructive Instagram stunt, it forced the FBI to pull numerous agents off of critical portfolios,” Patel said.

“Taking key personnel away from important initiatives protecting the American people to deal with an overwhelming number of copycats following Comey’s lead and posting threatening messages against the president of the United States.”

“Thankfully, law enforcement did excellent work preventing a potential violent actor, and we’ll continue to be on guard,” Patel added.

Stinson is a resident of Northern Virginia and, according to federal authorities, self-identifies as a member of Antifa.

While some of his online threats appear to have been posted before the Comey post in question, including during the 2024 presidential campaign, others were more recent and graphic in nature.

One post cited in the criminal complaint appears to reference the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against President Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Those secret service agents moved very slowly,” Stinson wrote at the time.

“They left him in the open way to [sic] long. A missed opportunity will not come around again. They will teach this to future agents as a failure to protect and act.”

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In another post from February, Stinson declared, “Sure. This is war. Sides will be drawn. Antifa always wins in the end. Violence is inherently necessary.”

On June 11, he allegedly wrote on BlueSky, “When he dies, the party is going to be yuge.”

Comey has not publicly commented on Patel’s remarks or on any potential connection between his Instagram post and the threats made by Stinson.

Stinson’s arrest comes shortly after a separate indictment involving a California man who allegedly threatened to assassinate President Trump following his second election win in 2024.

That case also involved a federal grand jury.

“This defendant is charged with threatening the life of our President – a man who has already survived two deranged attempts on his life,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time.

“The Department of Justice takes these threats with the utmost seriousness and will prosecute this crime to the fullest extent of the law.”

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