Ex-FBI Director James Comey faces backlash over deleted Instagram post of seashells arranged as “8647”, interpreted as coded call to assassinate Trump: All you need to know
A massive controversy has erupted in the United States after former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey dropped an Instagram post fuelling rumours of a coded call to assassinate President Donald Trump. Dismissed by Trump during in his first term as President, Comey had shared a photo showing seashells arranged to form the number “8647.”
The number raised concerns, as “86” is often used as slang for getting rid of something or ejecting someone, especially in restaurant and bar settings when referring to menu items. The number “47” is believed to reference Trump, who is the 47th president of the United States.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey had captioned the post.
Officials from the Trump administration, along with President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., viewed Comey’s post as a threat to the president’s life. Donald Trump Jr. also criticised Comey, accusing him of calling for the assassination of his father, President Trump. Donald Trump Jr in a post on X said, “Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented.”
Elon Musk replied to Trump Junior, “Advocating murder of the President is a serious crime”.
Following Comey’s social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau is coordinating with the US Secret Service. Patel confirmed that the FBI will fully support the Secret Service’s investigation into the post allegedly targeting President Trump
Sharing a post on X, Patel said, “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.”
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem condemned Comey, accusing him of inciting violence against President Trump. Noem said the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service are actively investigating the matter and will take appropriate action.
In a post on X, Noem said, “Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump. DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
Amidst the backlash, Comey posted a statement on Instagram claiming that he was unaware that the “8647” code could be linked to violence. The former FBI Director said he shared a photo of seashells arranged in numbers, assuming it was a political message.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. 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,” Comey said in a statement, posted on Instagram.
Speaking to Fox News, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard said that James Comey was fully aware of what he was posting. “As a former FBI Director and someone who spent most of his career prosecuting mobsters and gangsters, he knew exactly what he was doing and must be held accountable under the full force of the law,” Gabbard said.
It must also be noted that in American English, the number 86 refers to get to rid of someone or something. Its usage started in restaurants and bars, when it was used to indicate that an item of food or drink is no longer available, or that a customer should be rejected. After that, it started to be used to mean to ‘get rid of’ someone or something. In the Antifa (Anti-Fascist) lingo also, “86” is often referred to as eliminating or ejecting someone which may be interpreted as killing someone.
Interestingly, several American e-commerce platforms have started selling “8647” stickers and T-shirts, with product description “Anti-Trump, Anti-GOP, Pro-Democracy Sticker, Anti Fascist, FDT, Liberal Leftist Sticker, Anti Republican Sticker.”
Who is James Comey?
On the 4th of September 2013, James Comey was sworn in as the seventh Director of the FBI. He oversaw key investigations into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election and Hillary Clinton’s email controversy, before he was fired by Trump in May 2017, shortly after Trump started his first administration. He served in the position for over three years. During his tenure, Comey was accused of Republicans and Democrats have heavily criticised the former FBI director for his investigations into Trump and Clinton and how he handled each in the public sphere. Neither investigation resulted in charges against the two politicians.
Assassination attempts against Donald Trump
What makes James Comey’s “8647” post even more alarming is that Donald Trump has in the recent past been at the target of many of his adversaries. On 13th July 2024, the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump took place at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One attendee at the rally died, and two were reportedly injured in the gunfire. Trump managed to escape the assassination attempt with a bullet injury to his right ear. Trump was saved by mere milimetres as he turned his head just before the gunshot was fired, moving his face slightly away from a direct hit. The assailant of the first attempt was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was killed by Secret Service agents during the attack.
The second assassination attempt against Trump took place in September 2024. On the 15th of September last year, gunshots were fired at Trump International Golf Club in Florida, when the former US President was holding an election rally. While Trump was reported safe, the FBI announced that its investigation revealed the gunfire appeared to be an attempted assassination on Trump. Later, the assailant was identified as a Democrat supporter Ryan Routh. Reportedly, he was seen aiming an AK-47 at Trump when Secret Service agents spotted him. The assailant was heavily armed at the time of the incident. Although 58-year-old Routh managed to escape, he was later caught by the security agencies.
Besides these unsuccessful assassination attempts, an Iranian plot to kill Trump was uncovered last year. In November 2024, the US Justice Department announced that it had foiled a plot by the Iranian Islamic regime to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump in the run-up to the election. The US authorities accused the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of hiring a 51-year-old assassin named Farhad Shakeri to surveil and kill Donald Trump.
The repeated attempts to assassinate Trump, now James Comey’s “8647” post cannot be taken lightly given there has a significant surge anti-Trump sentiment in the recent past. Last month, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a non-partisan organisation tracking online extremist hatred, reported that around 55 per cent of self-identified leftists believe that murdering President Donald Trump is at least somewhat justifiable. The report hinted at the rise and mainstreaming of “assassination culture” among the left-leaning lot. Among all respondents of the study, 38% found the assassination of Trump justifiable.
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