Former FBI Director James Comey is under investigation for a social media post that allegedly called for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Comey shared an image to his Instagram page showing the numbers “8647” drawn out in shells along the beach.
He captioned the now-deleted post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Highlights
- Former FBI Director James Comey is under investigation for posting '8647,' a coded message interpreted as a call to assassinate President Trump.
- Comey denied calling for violence, claiming he didn't know the meaning of '8647.'
- Top officials, including Tulsi Gabbard and Kristi Noem, condemned Comey's post, demanding his arrest and triggering investigations by DHS and the Secret Service.
Senior officials have called for Comey to be arrested over the post
Image credits: James Comey/Instagram
It has sparked an uproar and calls for his arrest due to the symbolic meaning of the numbers placed together, with many Republicans saying he has called for the murder of Trump.
Comey has denied that he called for violence and claimed he did not know the meaning of the numbers.
The message has been interpreted as an assassination call, as many use the number 86 as a slang term “to get rid of” or “to remove” something.
With Trump being the 47th president of the U.S., it has been construed as a message to get rid of Trump.
Image credits: The White House
Alongside the number 86 in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is a note that reads: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’
“We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called for Comey to be arrested over the post.
“I’m very concerned for the president’s life, we’ve already seen assassination attempts,” she told Fox News.
“James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem described the post as an assassination call.
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump,” she said.
“DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said Comey had called for his father to be killed.
Republicans, including Trump's son, say the post was an assassination call
“Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered,” he posted on X.
“This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
In a separate post, he called Comey “vile.”
FBI Director Kash Patel added: “We are aware of the recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump.
“We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters, and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich said the post was deeply concerning.
“While President Trump is currently on an international trip to the Middle East, the former FBI Director puts out what can clearly be interpreted as ‘a hit’ on the sitting President of the United States—a message etched in the sand,” he posted on X.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously.”
Comey deleted the post following the backlash and has since claimed he did not know what the symbols represented.
“I posed earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” he said.
“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.”
Trump has not publicly responded to Comey’s post on any of his social media accounts as yet.
Comey was appointed FBI director by former President Barack Obama in 2013, and he served until he was dismissed by Trump in 2017, during his first term.
He became a central figure during the 2016 U.S. presidential election for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, which looked into her use of a private email server for official communications during her tenure as Secretary of State.
Comey served as head of the FBI between 2013 and 2017
Image credits: James Comey/Instagram
In 2017, sources told CNN that Comey was aware Russian intelligence had fabricated a key document in the investigation.
He feared that if the document were released publicly, it could undermine the credibility of the FBI and the Department of Justice, officials told the outlet.
There was also controversy when Trump fired Comey, as it came amid the FBI’s investigation into possible ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
While the official reason given for the firing at the time was his handling of the Clinton email probe, statements made by Trump afterward appeared to suggest it was related to the Russia investigation.
Critics accused Trump of trying to undermine the Russia probe, while the White House claimed Comey mishandled the Clinton case.
In 2020, Comey defended his decision to launch the 2016 Russia probe during a Senate hearing.
He told the panel that the investigation was “essential” and “appropriate,” ABC News reported.
“In the main, it was done by the book, it was appropriate and it was essential that it be done,” Comey said.
He also acknowledged that there “were parts of it that were concerning.”