The US Secret Service has initiated an inquiry into former FBI Director James Comey following accusations of inciting violence against President Donald Trump via a now-removed Instagram post.
The situation escalated when Comey, who was fired by Trump during the early days of his presidency, posted an image of shells arranged to read “8647.” This particular sequence has connotations of eliminating or removing something—like how a disruptive patron might be “86’d” from a bar or restaurant.
In this context, “86 47” appears to suggest a coded message advocating for the end of Trump’s presidency.
“A cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey captioned the post.
Comey has voiced strong critiques of Trump since his dismissal in 2017, labeling him morally unfit for office in various interviews. Trump’s team and Donald Trump Jr. interpreted Comey’s recent message as an implicit death threat.
“While President Trump is abroad in the Middle East, Comey’s post can be seen as a ‘hit’ on a sitting president, or perhaps just a message in sand,” tweeted Taylor Budowich.
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey called for assassination of @POTUS. The DHS and Secret Services are thoroughly investigating this,” tweeted Secretary Kristi Noem.
Comey, who previously looked into Russian collusion during Trump’s 2016 campaign, claims he didn’t mean for the post to incite violence, attributing any interpretation of that nature to a misunderstanding stemming from the Steele dossier—a document with unverified claims about Trump that was partially funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
“I posted some photos of shells from my walk on the beach. I didn’t intend for it to convey any political message. Some people may not realize they’re tying those numbers to violence,” said Comey, later explaining, “It never happened to me, but I’m against all violence, so I removed the post.”
The “8647” slogan has emerged as a symbolic representation opposing Trump.
