Despite having led the nation’s top law enforcement agency, former FBI Director James Comey is currently in the eye of the storm for a reckless decision.
Specifically, Comey is under Secret Service investigation for a social media post that many view as a thinly-veiled assassination threat against President Donald Trump.
The disgraced former bureau chief posted a beach photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged to form “8647.”
The number is widely interpreted as a coded call to “86” (eliminate) the “47th” president.
Conservative officials and Trump supporters are demanding accountability for what appears to be the latest attempt to normalize violence against America’s duly elected leader.
The controversy erupted when Comey shared the photo with the seemingly innocent caption “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
But the numbers carried a sinister meaning that did not escape notice. In restaurant and bar terminology, to “86” someone means to remove them.
Additionally, the term has evolved to include more violent connotations of elimination or killing.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem immediately called out the implied threat.
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of President Trump,” Noem stated bluntly, joining several Republican officials demanding the former FBI director face consequences.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi announced, “We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director & we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters.”
Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered.
This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!! pic.twitter.com/4LUK6crHAT
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 15, 2025
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” said Taylor Budowich, head of MAGA Inc., the main super PAC supporting the Trump campaign.
Donald Trump Jr. accused Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered.”
The concern is heightened given two assassination attempts against President Trump during the 2024 campaign.
Current FBI Director Kash Patel has offered full support to the Secret Service for their investigation, demonstrating the seriousness with which federal authorities are approaching the apparent threat.
After facing backlash, Comey deleted the post and claimed ignorance.
“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,” he stated.
Many find the explanation unlikely as it comes from the actual former head of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.
Some Republican lawmakers, including Representative Tim Burchett, have called for Comey’s arrest or a home raid.
Comey’s troubled history with President Trump dates back to 2017 when the president fired him over his mishandling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
Since then, Comey has positioned himself as a vocal Trump critic while rebranding as a fiction writer.
