The meaning the behind the numbers ‘8647’ has been revealed – and it’s pretty dark.
The term has faced new attention after former FBI chief James Comey shared and deleted a photo of seashells on a beach assembled to create the number – sparking an investigation.
After Comey – who was fired by Trump in 2017 – shared the image, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency oversees the Secret Service, revealed on X that the DHS and Secret Service are “investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
But what does it actually mean and why has it elicited such a strong response?
Well, according to some, the message is a code calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump.
The term ’86-ing’ means to get rid of something or someone, while 47 is said to represent Trump being the 47th President of the United States.
Noem wrote in her post: “Today, federal agents from @SecretService interviewed disgraced former FBI Director Comey regarding a social media post calling for the assassination of President Trump.
“I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of @POTUS Trump. This is an ongoing investigation.”
Comey had posted and deleted the image, quickly apologizing and claiming that he was not the one who arranged the shells, but said he stumbled across them and “assumed they were a political message.”
Some even called for Comey’s arrest after he claimed he was not aware that “some folks associate those numbers with violence”, stating it “never occurred” to him that that is what it may mean.
He is not the only person to face backlash for using the sequence of numbers, as social media star Ed Krassenstein claims he was visited by the Secret Service on the instruction of the Trump administration after he used the numbers in a post.
Krassenstein claimed he’d used the numbers to mean he wanted Trump impeached or removed from his post, adding: “I would absolutely never, ever call for violence against anyone, let alone the President of the United States.”
The reference has taken on new significance following multiple assassination attempts during Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, which even saw him covered in blood after a bullet grazed his ear while he was making a speech.
Trump was shot at during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, with the bullet catching his ear, and was also targeted by Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, who allegedly tried to shoot hom on his Florida golf course.
Following Comey’s post, Trump spoke out to claim he believes Comey knew what 8647 meant, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant.
“A child knows what that means. If you are the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant?
“That meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear.”
Trump Addresses Comey’s 86 47 Message
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also took the same view, adding: “That is a ridiculous and insane statement to make. Coming from a guy who is the former director of the FBI.
“For Comey to think that we the American people, that he as a former FBI director, former prosecutor, would believe his lie that he didn’t know what this was calling for. The dangerousness of this cannot be understated.”
Gabbard added: “I’m very concerned for the President’s life, and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”