Patel Comments On Recent Arrest
Federal authorities have arrested and charged a former U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant, Peter Stinson, for threatening to assassinate
President Donald Trump, according to an announcement by FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday. The case marks another alarming escalation in politically-motivated threats against high-profile elected officials.
Stinson, a Virginia resident who served in the Coast Guard from 1988 to 2021, was known during his military tenure as a sharpshooter and FEMA instructor. Court documents obtained by Fox News reveal a series of disturbing online posts in which Stinson allegedly discussed various means of executing an attack on the president.
Unsealed affidavits show that Stinson made multiple references to former FBI Director James Comey’s controversial “8647” Instagram post.
Prosecutors argue that Stinson adopted this same numerical reference—widely interpreted as a coded threat—as a motif in his own social media rhetoric. Authorities report he made at least 13 such posts, some of which contained violent language and implied methods, including firearms, poison, and knives.
One of Stinson’s posts allegedly invoked the executive-style killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, suggesting that Trump should be “Luigied”—a direct reference to the suspected killer, Luigi Mangione. In other online exchanges, Stinson questioned his own ability to carry out such an attack but maintained violent intent.
FBI Director Patel directly attributed Stinson’s behavior to the influence of his predecessor. “This is a guy who threatened President Trump’s life using the ‘86 47’ language — the exact kind of copycat law enforcement is now frequently dealing with after former Director Comey’s destructive Instagram debacle,” Patel wrote on social media.
In addition to the threats, prosecutors note that Stinson has openly identified as a member of ANTIFA, a loosely organized extremist group with a documented history of violent political demonstrations. In a post dated February 2, Stinson allegedly wrote, “Antifa always wins in the end. Violence is inherently necessary.”
Stinson’s arrest is one of several high-profile cases in a growing trend of politically-charged violence. On the same day, Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley confirmed that 51-year-old Justin David Gaglio pleaded guilty to sending dozens of death threats to a public official and the official’s family.