James Comey Dismisses Potential Charges Over ‘86 47’ Instagram Post as ‘Ridiculous’

Comey recounted that when he and his wife came across the shell arrangement on the beach, he interpreted it as “some kind of political message” related to the 47th president. His wife encouraged him to take a photo of it.

“We stood over it, and I said, ‘I think it’s some kind of political message,’” Comey recalled. “She said, ‘When I was a server, “86” meant to take something off the menu when it ran out.’ And I said, ‘Well, as a kid, it always meant to leave or ditch a place.’ I thought, ‘That’s really clever.’”

The appearance marked the former FBI director’s first public comments since posting a photo of seashells arranged on a beach to form the numbers “86 47.”

Comey described his interactions with Secret Service agents as professional, saying, “They were pros.”

Former President Donald Trump, who has survived two assassination attempts—including the July 13, 2024, incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his right ear—interpreted Comey’s post as a direct threat.

“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Friday. “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant—that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”

The former FBI director insists the post was “totally innocent” and expressed no regret over sharing it, even though he eventually removed it.

“I regret the distraction and controversy it caused, but it’s hard to feel regret about something that still looks totally innocent to me in hindsight,” Comey said.

Responding to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s claim that he should be jailed over the post, Comey dismissed the notion as “ridiculous.”

“I hope people understand where that particular person is coming from,” Comey said. “It really says something more depressing about the leadership of our current administration. Honestly, I just shrug it off because it’s ridiculous.”

“I don’t expect any further action against me over the shell post.”