Ex-FBI director Comey interviewed by Secret Service over ‘8647’ social media post
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US President Donald Trump (above) himself on May 16 accused former FBI director James Comey of calling for his assassination.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey met with the US Secret Service on May 16, after he was called in to discuss a social media post that Mr Donald Trump’s supporters claimed was a threat against the President, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
Ms Noem, in a post on X, said there was “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether Mr Comey might be subject to further action.
The Secret Service, which is in charge of presidential security and is part of the Department of Homeland Security, interviewed Mr Comey at the Washington field office on the afternoon of May 16, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The meeting began at around 6pm and lasted about an hour, the official said. Mr Comey appeared voluntarily after being asked to come in, the source said.
Federal law enforcement agencies were investigating an Instagram post
In US slang, the number 86 can be used as a verb meaning to throw somebody out of a bar for being drunk or disorderly. Mr Trump is the 47th president of the United States.
Mr Comey, who was fired by Mr Trump in 2017, took down the post after a backlash from Trump supporters, saying on Instagram: “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Some of the President’s supporters interpreted the message as a call to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including through assassination.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says on its website that one recent meaning of the term 86 is “to kill” but that it has not adopted it “due to its relative recency and sparseness of use”.
“Today, federal agents from @SecretService interviewed disgraced former FBI director Comey regarding a social media post calling for the assassination of President Trump,” Ms Noem said.
“I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of @POTUS Trump. This is an ongoing investigation.”
Mr Trump himself on May 16 accused Mr Comey of calling for his assassination, rejecting the former FBI director’s explanation that he was not aware of any violent connotation.
“He knew exactly what that meant,” Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox News before leaving Abu Dhabi while on a four-day Middle East trip, adding that he would leave further action on the matter to Attorney-General Pam Bondi and others.
Mr Comey was not available for comment.
The “8647” and “8646” themes have been used as political slogans and on T-shirts during the administrations of both Mr Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, the 46th US president.
Early in his first term as president, Mr Trump fired Mr Comey, who as FBI director had been leading an investigation into the 2016 Trump presidential campaign’s possible collusion with Russia.
Mr Comey has been a sharp critic of his former boss, calling him “morally unfit” to lead in a 2018 interview.
Mr Trump himself was accused of using Twitter posts to incite rioters
Mr Trump in 2024 also posted on social media a video that featured an image of Mr Biden, who was president at the time, with his hands and feet tied together in the back of a pickup truck. REUTERS
