Former FBI Director James Comey, following the controversial “86 47” seashell post, was seen leaving his home to be interviewed by the Secret Service. The now-deleted post, according to some, could be interpreted as a call to violence against President Donald Trump, who survived two previous assassination attempts.
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Video footage shared by CNN shows Comey leaving his home to be interviewed at the U.S. Secret Service office field office located in Washington. This interview, which Comey attended voluntarily, was prompted by a Thursday, May 15, Instagram post made by Comey.
As per CNN, Comey told the Secret Service that, while walking on a beach along with his wife, he saw the arranged shells. After identifying the political message behind “86 47,” Comey snapped a photo of the shells and posted it online.
However, things didn’t go as planned. The now-deleted post could be interpreted by many as an incitement of violence, or even assassination. Merriam-Webster defines the informal use of “86” as “to throw out,” “to get rid of,” or “to refuse to serve.” However, the Associated Press also shared the recent connotation the number has acquired.
“Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill,'” Merriam-Webster noted, as per the AP. “We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
Therefore, after Comey was alerted to the more extreme meaning of “86 47,” he decided to take down the post.
‘I Oppose Violence Of Any Kind’
James Comey told the Secret Service that he didn’t mean to incite violence toward Trump, as per CNN. This sentiment was shared online by Comey, who took down the original post and then posted a statement on Instagram.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey wrote. “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.”
However, in a Fox News interview released on May 16, President Trump stated that Comey “knew exactly what that meant.” He added, “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,” Trump said.
In an interview shared by the Secret Service with media outlets, the law enforcement agency addressed Comey’s controversial post.
“The Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees,” the statement read. “We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director and we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters.”
Donald Trump fired James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2017. At the time, Comey was handling an investigation into potential ties between Trump and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. While the Russian government did interfere in the elections, no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia was found, as per a report made by John H. Durham.