India, May 16 -- Former FBI Director James Comey sparked controversy on social media after posting a photo of a shell formation on Instagram that appeared to read "8647." The image quickly drew accusations from some users, who claimed it was a veiled threat to "eliminate" President Donald Trump.

Amid the backlash, Comey deleted the post and issued a public statement to clarify his intent.

"I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down," he wrote on Instagram.

The number 86 is American slang that generally means to "get rid ...