US authorities are investigating an alleged call to assassinate President Donald Trump by former Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (2013-2017) James Comey, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told X.
“We thoroughly investigate anything that could be considered a potential threat to our charges. We are aware of the post on social media by former FBI Director Comey and take such statements very seriously“, Guglielmi wrote.
US Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Christie Noem noted in X that Comey "called for the assassination of Trump", emphasizing that DHS and the Secret Service "will investigate this threat and respond accordingly". The current director of the FBI, Kesh Patel, in turn noted that the service under his jurisdiction "will provide support" in the investigation.
The scandal was caused by a photo of seashells on the beach, arranged in the shape of the numbers 8647, published in X. As explained by the American media, the slang expression "to 86"... can be translated as a call to refuse a favor to someone or to "get rid" of someone, and can also mean a call to murder. In this case, the number 47 could be the serial number of Trump, who is the 47th president of the United States.
Amid criticism, Comey deleted the post and posted a message on Instagram explaining that the shells he was photographing were a “political message“. “I didn't realize that for some people these numbers could be associated with violence“, he said, emphasizing that “I don't support“ it.“
Trump has survived two assassination attempts in the past year. The first came at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last July, when a sniper's bullet grazed the politician's ear. A radical and supporter of aid to Ukraine opened fire a second time last September near Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.