On May 15, 2025, former FBI Director James Comey posted an Instagram photo of seashells arranged to form “8647” on a beach, captioned, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” The post, which went viral, drew accusations from Trump supporters, including Donald Trump Jr., who claimed it was a call to harm President Donald Trump, the 47th president. The White House, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and others labeled it a potential threat, prompting investigations by the Secret Service and DHS.

Later after posting it, Comey deleted the post and issued 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. 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.”

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard condemned Comey’s post on Fox News, stating, “Any other person with the position of influence that he has, people who take very seriously what a guy of his stature, his experience, and what the propaganda media has built him up to be, I’m very concerned for the president’s life. We’ve already seen assassination attempts.” Gabbard, dismissing Comey’s claim of ignorance, added, “That is a ridiculous and insane statement to make… especially coming from a guy who’s the former director of the FBI. A guy who spent most of his career prosecuting mobsters and gangsters. People who know and execute other humans and use this exact lingo.” She called for Comey to be “held accountable and put behind bars for this,” emphasizing the need for legal consequences.

Comey also went on Stephen Colbert to talk about the incident and provided his account of the circumstances of the event.