“8647”. Former FBI chief, officially investigated. Suspected of instigating Trump's assassination after a picture with shells

Former FBI director James Comey is investigated by Secret Service after distributing, then deleted, a post on social networks, which Republicans believe in violence against US President Donald Trump, according to USA Today, Reuters and BBC.

Comey posted on Instagram a photo of shells that formed the number “8647”, accompanied by the message: “Interesting formation of shells during the beach walk.”

Number 86 is used as a jargon, explained by “refusing” or “escaping something,” according to Dictionary Merriam-Webster. It was used recently and meaning “to kill”.

Trump is the 47th president of the US. The Interior Minister, Kristi Noem, claimed that the message is a call for Trump's assassination, but Comey said he was opposed to violence.

The Secret Service representative, Anthony Guglielmi, wrote the X platform: “We seriously investigate whatever can be interpreted as a potential threat to the people we protect. We are aware of the posting of the former FBI director and we take such a rhetoric very seriously. In addition, we do not comment on some issues related to protection.”

Comey wiped the post from Instagram and added later that “he thought shells were a form of political message.”

“I did not realize that those numbers can be associated with violence,” he said. “It did not go through my mind, but I declared myself against violence for any reason, so I deleted the post.”

Last year, Trump survived two assassination attempts.

The director of the FBI in office, Kash Patel, reacted on social networks, saying that the office is “aware of the recent posting of former FBI director James Comey, addressed to President Trump.”

“We are in communication with Secret Service and with the Curran director. In the case of these situations, the main jurisdiction has a secret service, and the FBI will provide all the necessary support.”

The Secretary for Internal Security, Kristi Noem, whose agency supervises the Secret Service, said X that the US and Secret Service Department “investigate this threat and will respond adequately”.

She told X: “Former FBI director James Comey, called Trump's assassination.”

Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., also reacted to X, commenting: “James Comey casually asks for my father to be killed.”

Comey was director of the FBI between 2013 and 2017, during the tumultuous period in which he supervised the broad investigation on the emails of the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, a few weeks before the elections, which she lost in front of Trump.

Later, he was fired by Trump during an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections.