WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director James B. Comey is under investigation by the U.S. Secret Service following a now-deleted social media post that critics, including senior Republican officials, claim suggested harm toward President Donald J. Trump.
Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 to 2017, posted a photo to Instagram earlier this week showing a line of seashells arranged to spell out the number “8647.” He captioned the image: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” While seemingly innocuous to some, the number sparked backlash after commentators noted that “86” is sometimes used as slang for “eliminate” or “kill,” and “47” is widely used as shorthand for Trump, the 47th president of the United States.
The post was swiftly condemned by conservative figures, including Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who accused Comey of inciting violence. “Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of Trump,” Noem wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino went further, describing the post as “a plea to bad actors/terrorists to assassinate the POTUS.”
Comey later deleted the photo and said in a follow-up post that the interpretation had not occurred to him. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” he wrote. “It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
The Secret Service confirmed it is reviewing the matter. “We vigorously investigate anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. “We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director, and we take rhetoric like this very seriously.”
Current FBI Director Kash Patel acknowledged the situation, stating on social media that the agency is in contact with the Secret Service and would provide support. “Primary jurisdiction is with the Secret Service on these matters,” Patel added.
Comey, who was dismissed by Trump in 2017 during the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, has been a frequent target of criticism from the Trump camp. The tension between the two dates back to Comey’s oversight of the Clinton email investigation, which many Democrats and some Republicans believe influenced the outcome of the 2016 election.
President Trump, who has survived two assassination attempts in the past year, is currently on a diplomatic tour in the Middle East. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., also weighed in, accusing Comey on X of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered.”
As of Friday evening, Comey had not issued further public comment beyond his explanation and removal of the original post.
