Secret Service tracked James Comey after '86 47' social media post targeting Trump: report

The Secret Service tracked former FBI Director James Comey after a social media post in May that critics of it say called for killing President Trump.

The post was a picture of seashells arranged in "86 47." The first number has roots in the restaurant industry for getting rid of, or no longer having, a certain food. But others say it is a call for an assassination. The second number stands for the 47th president. 

Three anonymous government officials told The New York Times that law enforcement authorities in unmarked cars and street clothes tracked the location of Comey's cellphone the day after he posted on Instagram a picture of the numbers etched in the sand at a beach via seashells. 

Comey deleted the post, which was captioned "Cool shell formation on my beach walk." In a follow-up post, Comey said, "I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. 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."

Authorities tailed Comey and his wife, Patrice, as they drove from their North Carolina vacation through Virginia to their home in the Washington, D.C., area, the officials said, citing “exigent” circumstances for the justification. 

The Secret Service was also receiving information showing the location of Comey's phone while federal law enforcement were at his home waiting for him to return, according to the officials, The Times also reports.

Comey was interviewed over the phone by the Secret Service the evening of the day that he shared the post, and he said he had no intent to cause the president harm. The Secret Service still wanted to interview Comey at their headquarters the next day, so agency personnel met him when he arrived home from vacation and drove him to the D.C. office, where they questioned him.

“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,” Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, told the Times. “To preserve operational integrity, we are not able to comment on specific protective intelligence matters.”

Comey has not been charged with a crime, and the status of the inquiry is unclear.

A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Times that the Secret Service had launched the inquiry on its own and that it had not been requested by the White House.

A representative for Comey declined to comment to the Times.

The day that Comey posted the Instagram picture, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, "Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of [President] Trump. DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately."

Trump was on an international trip to the Middle East when Comey made the post.

Trump also responded to Comey's initial post and follow-up explanation, saying, "He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant? That meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear."