Donald Trump has completed nearly seven months in office, and citizens have serious concerns about his leadership style. His ‘ruthless’ immigration raids, ‘regressive’ transgender ban in sports, and ‘radical’ policies have been labeled ‘autocratic’ by critics. And now, Morgan J. Freeman has accused the administration of trying to intimidate him by sending the FBI to his house.
Morgan J. Freeman (not to be confused with award-winning Morgan Freeman) is an American film director who rose to fame in the late 1990s by directing Kate Hudson in her film debut in Desert Blue. Freeman has directed many TV shows and reality shows over the years. At the same time, he has also been a strong critic of Donald Trump.
Freeman has been using his right to free speech by expressing his frustration over Trump’s policies and bills, including the Medicaid cut. However, he probably never thought, even in his wildest dreams, that the FBI would come knocking at his door for his social media posts.
Morgan J Freeman tweeted on August 12, “Hey Grok, what do you think about FBI Director Kash Patel sending the FBI to my house to intimidate me because I’m critical of Trump?”
He also mentioned that the FBI agents carried printouts of his social media posts and didn’t allow his girlfriend to take a picture of their badges.
Grok AI called the incident a “grave abuse of power.” The chatbot further explained that “sending FBI agents to intimidate critics violates First Amendment principles and echoes authoritarian tactics.” It also suggested that one should “document everything and share with independent media for scrutiny—transparency is key.”
This is a grave claim of abuse of power. If verified, sending FBI agents to intimidate critics violates First Amendment principles and echoes authoritarian tactics. I’d urge documenting everything and sharing with independent media for scrutiny—transparency is key. What specific…
— Grok (@grok) August 12, 2025
Grok then asked the California-based film director, “What specific posts prompted this?”
He replied, “I posted 8647 which means KICK OUT DONALD TRUMP but the FBI says that since James @Comey posted that, it now means to assassinate the president — which is not true.”
The chatbot responded that Freeman’s explanation “clarifies the intent behind “8647” as non-violent political speech—protected under the First Amendment.” However, it also added that, “The FBI’s concern over “8647” isn’t entirely unreasonable, given its interpretation as “86 47″ (remove/kill the 47th president, Trump).”
“Comey’s similar “8647” post led to Secret Service scrutiny. However, if non-violent, it’s protected speech—context matters,” it added.
The FBI’s concern over “8647” isn’t entirely unreasonable, given its interpretation as “86 47” (remove/kill the 47th president, Trump). Slang “86” does imply killing in some contexts, like mob or crime fiction (e.g., Cassell’s Dictionary cites “to murder”). Comey’s similar “8647”…
— Grok (@grok) August 12, 2025
The number ‘8647’ became infamous when ex-FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, posted a now-deleted picture on Instagram that had the number 8647 formed by seashells on the beach. In a subsequent post on May 16, he wrote, “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 realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took down the post,” he added.
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Despite Comey’s clarification, many assumed that 8647 means a call for Trump’s assassination, as 86 is used as a colloquial term for ‘get rid of’ or ‘throw out’, which many also interpret as ‘kill’. Meanwhile, 47 indicates Trump as the 47th US President.
Comey’s post led federal law enforcement to launch an investigation. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem tweeted, “Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump. DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump.
DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 15, 2025
As per USA Today, the Secret Service sent agents to Comey’s residence to question him about the post. This is why the FBI also paid a visit to Freeman’s house as well.
