James Comey's 8647 post explained as code used to charge ex-FBI director with threatening Trump's life

The alleged persecution of President Trump's political enemies stepped up a gear on Tuesday, after former FBI director James Comey was charged with two major felonies over a social media post from last year.

Surprisingly, this was not a post that directly advocated violence or criticized the president, or even contained a single word. It was merely a picture of seashells and rocks that had been posted by Comey, spelling '8647'.

Despite Comey, who headed the FBI from 2013 to 2017, rapidly deleting the post after he was made aware of its greater hidden meaning, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has now decided to indict him on charges of making a threat against the president and transmitting that threat, according to court documents.

Pursuing criminal convictions against the former director has long been a priority of the DOJ in the president's second term, after he oversaw the investigation into the Russiagate scandal and wrote in his memoir that Trump was 'unfit for office'.

James Comey has been charged with two felonies for posting four numbers on social media (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Previous efforts by the department to put Comey behind bars in September of last year failed, with Trump officials trying once again to try the former top law enforcement officials with two charges, making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

These charges related to statements made by Comey during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the FBI's investigation into Russia's attempt to influence the 2016 election in Trump's favor.

However, this case was ultimately dismissed as the US Attorney who filed the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was found to have been improperly appointed to her post. The president had fired her predecessor after he opposed charging the former director of the FBI.

But now, Comey is once again facing serious criminal charges - except this time, it's for a simple social media post that contains the numbers '8647'.

Comey said he did not realize the full meaning of his post (Instagram/@comey)

Comey is being charged with two felonies in relation to the above post, which shows shells and stones arranged to read '8647'. He posted it with the caption 'cool shell formation on my beach walk'.

DOJ chief Todd Blanche said as he revealed the charges: “I think it’s fair to say that threatening the life of anybody is dangerous and potentially a crime. Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice."

Why is '8647' considered a threat against President Trump?

But why are these four numbers considered a threat against the president?

Because '86' is a common abbreviation used in restaurants to communicate when an item on the menu is out of stock, or the chef is tired of making it.

His post could be interpreted as a threat against the president (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

And with Donald Trump becoming the 47th president in 2024 following his second election win, the perceived meaning behind Comey's post is a call to remove the American leader from office.

Some interpreted this as a call for violence. At the time of the post's deletion, Comey said the meaning 'never occurred to me' and said he had taken the image down as 'I oppose violence of any kind'.

As for who arranged the shells and rocks to spell out '8647', Comey has previously said it was nothing to do with him.

Instead, he claims that he and his wife came across them while walking on a beach in North Carolina.

Speaking after the federal charges against him were revealed, the former top FBI official said: “Nothing has changed. I’m still innocent; I’m still not afraid. I still believe in an independent justice system.”