Secret Service interrogates James Comey over publication interpreted as incitement to violence against Trump

The former FBI director James Comey was questioned Friday by U.S. Secret Service agents after a post on his Instagram account raised concerns about a possible threat against President Donald Trump. The meeting took place at the agency's Washington office.

As reported Reuters, the meeting lasted about an hour and was formally requested by the agency in charge of presidential protection.

The reason for the summons was an image posted by Comey showing the number "8647" written with seashells on sand. The message accompanying the image read, "What a cool shell formation on my walk on the beach." The post was later removed.

Although the content seemed harmless, in American slang the number "86" can be used as a synonym for "to remove" or "to get rid of someone," while "47" has been linked to Trump, the country's 47th president.

Trump rejects Comey's explanation

Comey later claimed that he had not anticipated any violent interpretation of the number and assured that he deleted the publication after learning its possible meaning: "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."

President Trump, however, rejected that version. In an interview with Bret Baier, he claimed that the meaning was clear and accused Comey of inciting violence: "He knew exactly what that meant. 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."

Secret Service leads investigation

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed that Secret Service Director Sean Curran is leading the investigation to determine whether this was a real threat against the president. Gabbard ruled out that Comey's explanation was sufficient and recalled that the slogan "8647" has been used by demonstrators with messages directed against the president.

Since his dismissal as FBI director in 2017 - when he was leading an investigation into alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia - Comey has been a constant critic of the president. In 2018, he called him "morally unfit" to exercise leadership of the country.

Another incident related to the same issue

Following the controversy over Comey's publication, social media personality Ed Krassenstein also shared the number "8647" on his social networks. He later reported that he was contacted by the Secret Service.

Krassenstein, known for his critical stance toward Trump, claimed that his message was a political expression, not a call for violence. He viewed the agents' visit as an attempt at censorship and claimed, "Trump wants to be a dictator, and I will not be intimidated into not voicing my opinions or my dissent against him, ever."