Ex-FBI director James Comey meets with Secret Service over contentious social post

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: May 16, 2025 9:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes ago

Former FBI manager James Comey met with the U.S. Secret Service connected Friday, aft helium was called successful to sermon a societal media station that U.S. President Donald Trump's supporters claimed was a menace against the president, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

Noem, successful a station connected X, said determination was "an ongoing investigation" but gave nary denotation of whether Comey mightiness beryllium taxable to further action.

The Secret Service, which is successful complaint of statesmanlike information and is portion of the Department of Homeland Security, interviewed Comey astatine the Washington tract bureau connected Friday afternoon, according to a instrumentality enforcement authoritative who spoke connected information of anonymity.

The gathering began astir 6 p.m. ET and lasted astir an hour, the authoritative said. Comey appeared voluntarily aft being asked to travel in, the root said.

Federal instrumentality enforcement agencies were investigating an Instagram station by Comey connected Thursday with a photograph of the fig 8647 formed by seashells connected soil with the comment, "Cool ammunition enactment connected my formation walk."

In U.S. slang, the fig 86 tin beryllium utilized arsenic a verb meaning to propulsion idiosyncratic retired of a barroom for being drunk oregon disorderly. Trump is the 47th president of the United States.

Comey, who was fired by Trump successful 2017, took down the station aft a backlash from Trump supporters, saying connected Instagram, "It ne'er occurred to maine but I reason unit of immoderate benignant truthful I took the station down."

Some Trump supporters interpreted the connection arsenic a telephone to violently region Trump from office, including done assassination.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says connected its website that 1 caller meaning of the word 86 was "to kill" but that it had not adopted it "due to its comparative recency and sparseness of use."

"Today, national agents from @SecretService interviewed disgraced erstwhile FBI Director Comey regarding a societal media station calling for the assassination of President Trump," Noem said successful her station connected X.

"I volition proceed to instrumentality each measures indispensable to guarantee the extortion of @POTUS Trump. This is an ongoing investigation."

'He knew precisely what that meant': Trump

Trump himself connected Friday accused Comey of calling for his assassination, rejecting the erstwhile FBI director's mentation that helium was not alert of immoderate convulsive connotation.

"He knew precisely what that meant," Trump said successful an interrogation with Fox News earlier leaving Abu Dhabi portion connected a four-day Middle East trip, adding that helium would permission further enactment connected the substance to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and others.

Comey was not disposable for comment.

The "8647" and "8646" themes person been utilized arsenic governmental slogans and connected T-shirts during the administrations of some Trump and his predecessor, Democratic U.S. president Joe Biden, the 46th president.

Early successful his archetypal term, Trump fired Comey, who arsenic FBI manager had been starring an probe into the Trump 2016 statesmanlike campaign's imaginable collusion with Russia.

Comey has been a crisp professional of his erstwhile boss, calling him "morally unfit" to pb successful a 2018 interview.

Trump himself was accused of utilizing Twitter posts to incite rioters, who attacked the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021, to forestall the certification of Biden's predetermination victory.

Trump past twelvemonth besides posted connected societal media a video that featured an representation of Biden, who was past president, with his hands and feet tied unneurotic successful the backmost of a pickup truck.