Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted over an Instagram post featuring seashells arranged in the number “8647.” According to a report by CNBC, citing a source familiar with the matter, the charges allege that Comey threatened President Donald Trump through the now-deleted post shared in May last year.
The charges have not yet been publicly detailed, but the case marks the second time Comey has faced federal indictment during Trump’s second term.
When Comey posted the image of the figures in the May 15 post, Trump, who has long considered Comey an enemy, accused Comey of "calling for the assassination of the president."
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What does ‘8647’ mean?
The term “86” is widely recognized in American slang, particularly in the restaurant industry, where it means to remove or discontinue an item. According to Merriam-Webster, the phrase has evolved to mean “to eject, dismiss, or remove (someone).”
In the context of the post, critics led by Trump argued that combining “86” with “47” (Trump’s presidential number) could be construed as a call for violence.
{{/usCountry}}In the context of the post, critics led by Trump argued that combining “86” with “47” (Trump’s presidential number) could be construed as a call for violence.
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The Trump administration investigated Comey
In a September social media post, Trump publicly called on then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, saying "they're all guilty as hell."
Trump publicly accused Comey of “calling for the assassination of the president,” escalating the issue that led to an investigation. Comey was the subject of an investigation by the Trump administration for the social media post, but no charges were filed right away.
Comey, however, denied any such intent. In a follow-up statement after deleting the post, he wrote that he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and emphasized that he opposes violence “of any kind.”
But about four months later, he was charged in Virginia with one count each of obstruction and providing a false statement to Congress. These were brought under Lindsey Halligan, formerly Trump's personal lawyer. At the time, she was the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A federal judge found that Halligan had been appointed illegally and dropped the criminal case against Comey in November.