James Comey came under fire Thursday after posting a photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47” with the caption: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
The post was quickly deleted, but not before being widely circulated on social media.
Critics claimed the numbers carried a violent implication.
The number “86” is commonly used slang meaning to eliminate or get rid of something.
“47” was interpreted as a reference to Donald Trump, the 47th president of the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded to the post on X, saying, “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.”
Donald Trump Jr. also reacted, writing, “Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
Comey later issued a clarification, saying the post was misinterpreted.
“I posted a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” he wrote on Instagram.
“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.”
Dan Scavino, Trump’s former deputy chief of staff, accused Comey of intentionally sending a signal to extremists.
“While he’ll claim not to know what 8647 means, there’s no doubt that the former disgraced FBI Dir. knows exactly what he’s doing, with a plea to bad actors/terrorists to assassinate the POTUS’ while traveling internationally. Don’t let him get away with it!!” Scavino posted on X.
The Secret Service has not yet released an official statement.