Law enforcement reportedly tailed former FBI Director James Comey’s car and tracked his cellphone — taking steps reserved for serious threats — in response to his menacing social media post, “86 47.”
The Secret Service had authorities follow Comey in unmarked vehicles clad in street clothing, and track the former FBI director’s location of his cellphone, one day after he issued his May 15, 2025 social media post “86 47,” three government officials told the New York Times.
Comey and his wife, Patrice, were tailed by law enforcement as they drove from the coast of North Carolina through Virginia and back to their home in the Washington, D.C. area, officials told the newspaper.
During this time, the Secret Service was receiving information showing the location of Comey’s phone while federal agents waited at his house for him to return, the government officials added.
Upon returning home, Comey was met at his door by Secret Service agents who drove him into Washington, D.C. for questioning, the New York Times reported.
It remains unclear if Comey’s vehicle was tailed by Secret Service agents, other federal agents, or local law enforcement in North Carolina and Virginia.
The surveillance occurred one day after Comey posted a photo to social media showing seashells that had been arranged in the formation “86 47,” which he claimed he had found while walking on a beach with the added comment, “Cool shell formation.”
As Breitbart News reported, some interpreted the “86 47” message as a violent threat against President Donald Trump — who survived two assassination attempts during his campaign last year — as “86” is restaurant-speak for “eliminating” something and Trump is the 47th president.
The disgraced fired FBI director quickly deleted his post after receiving backlash.
“Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered,” Donald Trump Jr. said in reaction to Comey’s post.
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump,” U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said, adding, “DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
President Trump also reacted to Comey’s deleted social media post, telling Fox News’ Bret Baier that the ex-FBI director “knew what that meant,” adding that it was a call for “an assassination.”
“If you’re FBI director and don’t know what that meant — that meant assassination — and it says it loud and clear,” President Trump told Baier. “He wasn’t very competent, but competent enough to know what that meant.”
A White House official told the New York Times that the Secret Service launched the investigation into Comey on its own, and that it had not been requested by the White House.
“The Secret Service will vigorously investigate any individual, regardless of position or status, that may pose or be perceived as a threat to any of our protectees,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the newspaper. “To preserve operational integrity, we are not able to comment on specific protective intelligence matters.”
Notably, the Secret Service has been under intense scrutiny over the past year after failing to stop a wannabe assassin from shooting President Trump and several of his supporters at his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Video footage from the event makes it clear that the only reason Trump survived was that he happened to turn his head at the exact moment the firing began — outraging millions of Americans who demanded to know how the Secret Service could be so blatantly incompetent.
Ten days later, then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following a scathing congressional hearing in which she was unable or unwilling to answer many key questions from lawmakers on the agency’s failure to protect President Trump.
Questions surrounding Trump’s ill-fated July 13 rally in Butler — where former Pennsylvania fire chief Corey Comperatore lost his life from the shooting — still remain unanswered.
While Comey has not been charged with any crime in connection with the “86 47” post, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a separate investigation into him and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan over their roles in the investigation into the unproven allegation of collusion between President Trump and Russia during the 2016 election.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
