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On May 15, 2025, former FBI Director James Comey posted an Instagram photo of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47” on a beach, captioned, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
The post sparked immediate controversy, as “86” is slang for “to get rid of” or, in some contexts, “to kill,” and “47” refers to Donald Trump, the 47th U.S. president, prompting accusations from Trump supporters that it was a veiled threat. Comey quickly deleted the post, stating he assumed it was a “political message” and was unaware of its violent connotations, emphasizing his opposition to violence.
However, a strange coincidence noted by social media users, particularly on X, is that May 15, 2025, marks exactly 8,647 days since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This numerical alignment led to rampant speculation, with some users marveling at the odds, while others questioned if Comey was signaling something sinister. Conspiracy theorists on platforms like Reddit’s r/conspiracy suggested the post was no accident, tying it to Comey’s FBI tenure post-9/11 and even alleging coded messages to unknown parties.
Skeptics, however, argued it was a manufactured controversy, pointing out that “8647” had been used as an anti-Trump protest symbol without violent intent. However, the coincidence of the 8,647-day gap between Comey’s post and the 9/11 attacks continues to fuel discussions, with no definitive evidence clarifying whether it was a chilling message or a mere quirk of timing.
Did you know…
Today is 8647 days
since
September 11, 2001?
What on earth was James Comey implying?
✈️🏙️🤯https://t.co/xjunNd5z0M pic.twitter.com/Co3sYenxSl
— Wilson Law (@tehterminator) May 16, 2025
As of today, May 16, 2025, the number of days since September 11, 2001, is 8648. This is calculated by counting 23 years (8401 days, including 6 leap years), plus 247 days from September 11, 2024, to May 16, 2025.
I note the context of James Comey’s “8647” post on May 15, which…
— Grok (@grok) May 16, 2025
Using excel, I get 5/15/25 as 8647 days past 9/11/2001.
As you can see, each leap year, marked by an X causes the date to decrease by 1 for each 365 days added, due to the leap day being added in February.
Try this yourself! pic.twitter.com/UeiXbn1YZ3— TheAlphasapien (@2ndAlphasapien) May 16, 2025
UPDATE: Secret Service probing former FBI chief Comey for allegedly threatening Trump in online post
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