A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.

He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.

Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.

“I didn’t realise 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,” Mr Comey said.

Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”

Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.

The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.

“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.

Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.

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Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.

While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.

At least 21 people have died after tornadoes hit two US states, according to local officials.

Fourteen people have died in Kentucky, its governor Andy Beshear said, while seven have died in Missouri.

The weather system also saw tornadoes tear through Wisconsin, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.

In the city of St Louis, five people were confirmed dead and more than 5,000 homes were damaged, mayor Cara Spencer said on Saturday.

The storm system originally hit Scott County, 130 miles south of St Louis, on Friday, killing two people, Sheriff Derick Wheetley said.

The devastation that ensued saw roofs torn off buildings, blown-out windows, toppled trees, and power lines.

St Louis mayor Cara Spencer said: “Our city is grieving tonight. The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous.”

Dozens of people are believed to have been injured and in hospital, but the exact numbers in Missouri have not been confirmed.

Kentucky officials described the situation there as a “mass casualty event” after the weather system tore across Laurel County late on Friday.

Several people were taken to hospital, buildings were damaged, and a car flipped over on a busy highway, local officials reported.

Laurel County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Gilbert Acciardo said rescuers had “been on the ground all night looking for possible survivors”.

Kentucky governor Mr Beshear wrote on X that the number of dead in the state was likely to increase from 14 “as we receive more information”.

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Further devastation expected in other states

The National Weather Service warned of further devastation hitting Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma on Saturday.

“Severe thunderstorms producing large to very large hail, damaging gusts, and a couple of tornadoes are expected across the southern Plains,” it said on its website.

The Midwest tornadoes were also expected to hit Illinois, eventually stretching to New Jersey and the Atlantic coast.

Eight prisoners could be “frankly anywhere” in the US after breaking out of a New Orleans jail. Authorities have been left wondering – how did they do it?

The audacious escape saw 10 men flee the jail on Friday through a hole behind a toilet and scale a wall, in scenes reminiscent of The Shawshank Redemption movie.

The men are believed to have made their jailbreak while the lone guard assigned to their cell pod was away getting food.

While two have been recaptured, eight of the men – among them accused murderers – remain at large. Prison officials believe they may have had inside help.

Surveillance footage showed the escapees sprinting out of the Orleans Justice Centre, using blankets to scale a barbed wire fence and then sprinting across a nearby highway.

The absence of the men went unnoticed for more than seven hours – officers only learned of their escape the next morning during a routine headcount.

A photograph showing the hole the prisoners escaped through also revealed scrawled messages – including one saying “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing at the gap.

They ditched their jail uniforms after leaving the facility – and it is still unclear how some of them obtained regular clothes so quickly, officials said.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out because of “defective locks”.

Sheriff Hutson said there are indications that people inside her department helped the fugitives escape.

“It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help.”

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Who are the escaped men?

The men range from 19 years old to 42, with most being in their 20s.

One of the fugitives, Derrick Groves, was convicted on two charges of murder and two charges of attempted murder for his role in the 2018 Mardi Gras Day shootings of two men.

Another escapee, Corey Boyd, had pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said some of the men “have a history of witness intimidation of citizens who were brave enough to speak up”.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called the escape “beyond unacceptable” and said local authorities waited too long to inform the public.

She said she reached out to neighbouring states to alert them about the escape, saying they have had plenty of time to get to “frankly anywhere across the country”.