Secret Service Agents interviewed former FBI Director James Comey on Friday on his “8647” social media post, and administration officials called the death threat to President Trump and Comey a political statement.
"Today, federal agents from @SecretService interviewed Comey, a former FBI director of Investigation, about social media posts calling for the assassination of President Trump," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on Friday late Friday. "I will continue to take all the necessary measures to ensure protection of @potus Trump. This is an ongoing investigation."
Comey's lawyer declined to comment.
Longtime Trump critic Comey deleted the photo within a few hours - showing shells arranged in the form of "8647". He said it was a political message, not a violent message.
“I didn’t realize that some people tied these numbers to violence,” Comey wrote on Instagram. “It never happened to me, but I opposed any kind of violence, so I fell down my post.”
Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that he believed Comey "knows exactly what he means."
"A kid knows what it means...it means 'assassination'," Trump said. "And it's clear. He's not very capable, but he's capable enough to know what it means."
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said Thursday that Comey should be sentenced to jail.
"I care a lot about the president's life; we've seen the assassination attempt," Gabbard said on Fox News. "I care a lot about his life and I think James Comey should be responsible for it and for it."
Trump conducted two assassination attempts during his 2024 campaign. In July, he was injured at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania after the gunman shot him from a nearby roof and was killed by a Secret Service sniper. Two months later, a man targeted Trump's security details while playing golf in Florida. The man fled, was arrested and charged with attempting to assassinate the presidential candidate.
According to Merriam-Webster, "eighty-six" is an expression used in restaurants that means "denied service" or "denied or prohibited" customers, "delete (any) from the menu", or "reject, reject, stop or get rid of (something)". It dates back to the 1930s.
Republican politicians have used “86” in social media posts in the past. Last year, former Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz posted on X: "We are 86 now: McCarthy McCarthy McDaniel McConnell's good days have made progress on the Republican side."
The tweet mentioned former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel and former Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who all left Republican leadership positions.
On Friday, Gates told the Independent that his use of "86" is different from coming. "I used to talk about what had happened in the past," Gates said. "Comie is calling for future action. These are all different."
In 2022, conservative activist Jack Posobiec released "86 46" on X, which is obviously a reference to the 46th President Joe Biden. According to the Independent, Posobiec did not respond to a request for comment.
Anti-Trump T-shirts and other merchandise sold on Amazon and Etsy (some of which are still available for purchase) and using signage in "Open Hands" protests across the country, using 8,647 digital sequences. Amazon and Etsy also sell items with "8646", referring to Biden.
During Trump's first semester, numerical sequences were also used. In 2020, Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer appeared on the table behind her in a TV interview and was criticized as "8645."
At that time, Trump was the 45th president. Whitmer denied that the term means “assassination.”
Politifact reported that after staff at a Virginia restaurant asked White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave in 2018, staff wrote “86 - Sarah Huckabee Sanders.”
A former federal prosecutor investigated multiple threatening cases against government officials, saying Comey had committed no crime. He said federal criminal regulations prohibiting death threats to the president require a person to "willful and willingly" pose a clear threat to "take away, kidnap or cause personal injury."
The former prosecutor spoke on anonymously, citing fear of revenge, and he said Comey's position did not meet that legal threshold.
"He did not commit a crime," the former prosecutor said. "He made a vacancy for the enemy."