A social media post from former FBI Director James Comey aimed at President Donald Trump has sparked threats to other public figures, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said.
Law enforcement brought Comey in for questioning on Friday after he posted a picture on Instagram of seashells spelling out “8647,” which is understood in internet slang as a call to kill Trump. Bongino said in a Monday X post that “copycats” were using his symbolism to send threats that the FBI is forced to investigate, consuming valuable time and resources.
“We are now dealing with copycats, sending cryptic threats to public figures, using the ’86’ reference,” Bongino said. “Whether they turn out to be legitimate threats or not, taxpayer-funded public safety agents are going to have to run these all out and investigate them.” The deputy director said the trend shows “the damage self-serving individuals, with a history of extremely poor judgement, can do when they fail to control their impulses.”
We are now dealing with copycats, sending cryptic threats to public figures, using the “86” reference. Whether they turn out to be legitimate threats or not, taxpayer-funded public safety agents are going to have to run these all out and investigate them.
This is a reminder of…— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) May 19, 2025
Comey could not be reached directly, and his publishing team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Some interpreted the “86” in Comey’s Thursday post as a reference to a phrase in the restaurant industry for removing an item from the menu, with the “47” representing Trump, the forty-seventh president. The term “86” is also sometimes understood as a slang verb for killing someone.
Comey maintains that he did not intend to call for violence, saying on Monday that the Trump administration is stoking fear about the post as a “distraction.”
“In the Trump-era, I’ve been investigated a lot, audited a lot, and so it’s not my first rodeo,” Comey said in an MSNBC interview. Conservatives have long criticized Comey, a former President Barack Obama appointee, for his role in federal investigations into Trump over debunked claims of Russian collusion in the 2016 election.
Comey told MSNBC he does not expect to be charged over the “8647” post.
Federal officials have allegedly faced several violent threats since Trump returned to office. Federal prosecutors have charged people with sending threatening messages aimed at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk, Trump himself and others.
The FBI did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the DCNF.
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