James Comey posted a photo of a shell formation on Instagram that appeared to read “8647.” Some claimed it was a veiled threat to “eliminate” Donald Trump.
Former FBI Director James Comey sparked controversy on social media after posting a photo of a shell formation on Instagram that appeared to read “8647.” The image quickly drew accusations from some users, who claimed it was a veiled threat to “eliminate” President Donald Trump.
Amid the backlash, Comey deleted the post and issued a public statement to clarify his intent.
“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 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 wrote on Instagram.
NEW: James Comey deletes his “8647” post from Instagram and posts a “clarification” post, claims he had no clue the numbers were associated with violence.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence …”
This guy is such a dork and a fraud. Insane how he… pic.twitter.com/D79ro9VzJH
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 15, 2025
What does 8647 mean?
The number 86 is American slang that generally means to “get rid of,” “eject,” or “remove.” Meanwhile, 47 may be a reference to the 47th President of the United States. This interpretation fueled speculation that “8647” implied a threat to “eliminate” Trump.
Reactions
Donald Trump Jr slammed Comey, writing, “Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
Trump ally Laura Loomer also criticized him, saying, “Former FBI Director James Comey @Comey just posted this on his Instagram 2 hours ago, with the caption “cool shell formation on my beach walk”. It’s a pic of shells in the form of “86 47”. This is a call for the assassination of President Trump by the former FBI Director!”
An X user commented, “He expects us to believe that he a man that was I charge of the FBI is unaware of gang/ mafia code speak? I don’t buy it, I think it should warrant an investigation at bare minimum… James Comey is a vindictive person and dangerous!”
Another user wrote, “This code has been in use for over 3 months now. He knows what it means, and he knows other people have been arrested over it.”