(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Secret Service tracked down disgraced former FBI Director James Comey after he posted what appeared to be a veiled death threat against President Donald Trump.
Federal investigators reportedly followed Comey as he and his wife drove from their vacation on the North Carolina coast back to their home in the Washington area.
They also tracked his location through his cellphone signal, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The leftist outlet cited three anonymous “government officials” as sources for the report.
The aggressive investigation began a day after Comey posted a photo of seashells arranged to spell out “86 47.”
The number “86” is colloquially known as slang for getting rid of something or someone, while “47” refers to Trump’s position in the presidential lineup.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey wrote as the photo’s caption.
The photo gained viral attention after Trump’s youngest son, Don Jr., said that Comey was “casually calling for my dad to be murdered.”
In response to the backlash, Comey later deleted the photo and posted a follow-up, dubiously claiming ignorance of the interpretation.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” he wrote.
Trump himself rejected Comey’s excuse outright: “If you’re the F.B.I. director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination.”
Several Trump officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, also blasted the post.
“We are aware of the recent tweet by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump,” Patel wrote on X. “We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director (Sean) Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.”
Noem echoed Patel’s sentiment, adding: “Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUSTrump. DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
It is unclear if the probe remains open and whether Comey will face any consequences for the post.
