Former FBI Director James Comey is once again at the center of a national firestorm—this time over an Instagram post involving seashells. The now-deleted image, which showed shells arranged to read “8647,” has been interpreted by many, including current administration officials, as a coded call for violence against President Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States.
While Comey insists the post was “totally innocent,” federal agencies—including the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI under Director Kash Patel—have launched a formal investigation into the incident. Given that Trump has survived two recent assassination attempts, officials are taking no chances.
Comey claims the post was inspired by a serendipitous discovery during a beach walk with his wife. According to him, she remarked that the number “86” was used in restaurant slang to mean “remove” or “cancel.” Comey added his own interpretation—“to ditch a place.” Finding the number alongside “47”—Trump’s numerical designation as the 47th president—he said he thought it was clever, snapped a picture, and posted it.
“I didn’t have a gut check,” Comey told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, brushing off any suggestion that the photo had sinister intent. “In some strange way, [Trump] can’t get over [me]… This has just been a distraction of that life.”
But law enforcement and political leaders weren’t laughing.
The Trump administration didn’t mince words. White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields issued a blistering response:
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey… suffers from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. His recent doubling down on incomprehensible and dangerous rhetoric directed at President Trump underscores his derangement and commitment to divisiveness.”
Fields confirmed that “appropriate federal agencies are investigating” and will act “if warranted.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard went even further, telling Fox News that Comey should be arrested for allegedly threatening the life of the president. Comey, in turn, dismissed the idea as “ridiculous” and “depressing,” framing it as political theater rather than a legitimate legal concern.
But that dismissiveness didn’t stop the Secret Service from requesting an interview, which Comey agreed to. In a written statement, he admitted to taking the post down after learning of the violent connotation some associate with the number “86.”
James Comey claims the reason he is under a “political firestorm” is because he simply took a walk on the beach with his wife:
“All for walking on the beach with my wife. Don’t know how we ended up here. Never occurred to me that it was controversial.”pic.twitter.com/tui1cju5vF
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 19, 2025
This isn’t Comey’s first public clash with Trump. The president fired him in 2017, calling him “incompetent” and “unfit” for the role. Since then, Comey has become a frequent media presence and Trump critic, writing books and making cable appearances, often with an air of political defiance.
Yet what makes this incident more combustible is timing. Trump has already survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign. One attacker grazed his ear with a bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Another, Ryan Routh, attempted to breach his Florida golf course in September with the intent to kill.
Against that backdrop, even seemingly abstract symbolism is now taken seriously—and Comey’s “8647” post, whether careless or calculated, hit a raw nerve.
