Former FBI director James Comey is being accused of ‘threatening the life’ of Donald Trump after posting an Instagram picture of seashells on a beach.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey captioned the post, which depicted seashells spelling out the numbers “8647.”
But conservatives were quick to suggest that their formation was intended as a veiled threat against the commander-in-chief, as “86” has a history of being used as a verb in American slang to mean removing someone from a venue and Trump is the 47th president of the United States.
Comey subsequently deleted the image and explained in a separate post: “I posted a picture earlier of some shells I saw on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message.
“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.”
He did not clarify what “political message” he assumed the shells alluded to and his attempt to address the controversy only served to stoke Republican fury.
Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles moved swiftly to announce he had written to Secret Service Director Sean Curran and FBI Director Kash Patel “urging an immediate joint investigation,” adding: “If Comey broke the law, he shouldn’t get a pass. He should be in handcuffs.”
Patel responded on X that the bureau was aware of Comey’s post and was “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,” he added.
“The Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees,” Secret Service spokesperson 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. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters.”
Those messages did nothing to cool the mood either, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declaring on X: “Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of President Trump.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard then appeared on Jesse Watters’ Fox News show and said: “Any other person with the position of influence that he has, people who take very seriously what a guy of his stature, his experience and what the propaganda media has built him up to be, I’m very concerned for the president’s life.
“We’ve already seen assassination attempts. I’m very concerned for his life and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”
Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son, posted Comey’s seashell picture with the caption: “Just James Comey causally [sic] calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
MAGA activist Charlie Kirk appeared not to pick up on the alleged threat but attacked Comey anyway for making “cringe posts like a childless 50-year-old liberal woman on Facebook,” expressing gratitude that Trump “put this weirdo out to pasture” when he fired him in 2017.
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert called for Comey’s prosecution but then posted her own AI meme of seashells spelling out “FAFO”, which typically stands for “F*** Around and Find Out,” which in turn could be construed as a threat.
According to USA Today, citing a book entitled The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York (2006), the use of “86” as a verb is said to originate with the celebrated pub Chumley’s in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, which stood on 86 Bedford St and was known for tossing its drunken patrons out into the street when they became disorderly – or “86-ing” them.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary acknowledges that “to kill” is a more modern usage of the term but explains that it has not adopted it “due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
While a threat against the president’s life should not be taken lightly, particularly given that Trump himself was twice targeted by snipers during the 2024 presidential election, the man in the White House has faced similar criticism to that Comey is now receiving over his own public statements.
Trump attracted heavy disapproval in the final days of last year’s campaign when he entertained the idea of his political enemy Liz Cheney being assassinated during an event with Tucker Carlson in Arizona.
