President Donald Trump has accused former FBI Director James Comey of calling for his assassination, citing a social media post featuring the numbers “86 47” written in seashells on a beach. The post, which Comey has since deleted, has ignited a firestorm of controversy, with Trump and his allies alleging it constitutes a veiled threat of political violence.
“He’s calling for the assassination of the president,” Trump stated during a Fox News interview on Friday, a day after his administration announced an investigation into the matter. “A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear.”
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The “86 47” sequence has gained traction online and at demonstrations as a form of protest against Trump. The term “86” is slang for “nix” or “get rid of,” while “47” refers to Trump, the 47th president.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has also publicly accused Comey of using coded language to issue a threat against President Trump. Gabbard, appearing on Fox News, dismissed Comey’s claims of ignorance regarding the meaning of “8647,” citing his extensive background in federal law enforcement.
“That is a ridiculous and insane statement to make, certainly within this context, but especially coming from a guy who’s the former director of the FBI,” Gabbard stated. “People who know and execute other humans and use this exact lingo of 86.”
Comey removed the original post and replaced it with a new one, claiming he was unaware of the violent connotations associated with the numbers. “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 of any kind so I took the post down,” Comey explained.
However, Gabbard and others have rejected Comey’s explanation, alleging he was fully aware of the implied meaning.
“Comey himself admitted in his follow-up message that he knew that this was a political statement,” Gabbard argued. “The only reason he knew that, Jesse, was because a little over a month ago a bunch of anti-Trump anti-Elon Musk protesters were proliferating the use of this 86 47 slogan, which was a veiled call to action to murder the sitting president of the United States.”
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has also weighed in, stating that Comey “called for the assassination” of the 47th president. She added that both the Secret Service and DHS will investigate and take appropriate action. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on X that the bureau is aware of the post and is in contact with the Secret Service and Director Sean Curran.
Trump, labeling Comey a “dirty cop,” indicated that the next steps in the matter are up to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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