Comey faces DoJ charges over seashell ‘8647’ post, but what does it really mean?
James Comey faces criminal charges related to a tweet featuring seashells that some interpret as a call for violence against former President Trump. The tweet included the numbers '86 47', which have sparked controversy over their meaning. Comey has stated he did not intend for the numbers to be interpreted in that way, highlighting the political tensions surrounding the case.
- ▪James Comey has been charged by the Justice Department over a tweet featuring seashells.
- ▪The numbers '86 47' have been interpreted by some as a call to assassinate Trump.
- ▪The term '86' has various meanings, including slang for getting rid of something or someone.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — US |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/16/8647-meaning-james-comey-instagram-trump |
| Publication time | Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:27:24 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-04-28T20:49:39.788Z |
| Last seen | 2026-04-28T20:49:39.788Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
James Comey’s recent tweet has caused a fracas in rightwing spaces. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/APView image in fullscreenJames Comey’s recent tweet has caused a fracas in rightwing spaces. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/APDonald TrumpExplainerComey faces DoJ charges over seashell ‘8647’ post, but what does it really mean?The former FBI director is accused of calling for Trump’s death with seashell picture. We explain what it stands for Justice department files new criminal charges against ex-FBI director Comey Edward Helmore in New YorkTue 28 Apr 2026 16.27 EDTFirst published on Fri 16 May 2025 11.59 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleWhile the former FBI director James Comey has said it did not occur to him that that the numbers “86 47” – which he spotted spelled out in seashells…
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