Former FBI director James Comey charged with threatening Trump's life

The indictment stems from a 2025 photo of seashells posted by Comey on social media that the justice department says is a call to violence against Trump.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted for a second time by the Department of Justice. The new charges stem from a social media post in which Comey arranged seashells to form the numbers "86 47." Some Republicans interpreted this as a threat against former President Donald Trump, with "47" referencing Trump’s second presidential term and "86" perceived as slang for eliminating someone. The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, accuses Comey of making threats against the president and transmitting them via interstate commerce.

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on Tuesday in an investigation over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said constituted a threat against ... , according to a person familiar with the matter. The charge or charges against Comey were not immediately known. It’s the second criminal case the Justice Department has brought against the longtime Trump foe, who said he assumed the arrangement of shells he saw on a walk, reading "86 47," was a political message, not a ... He denied any wrongdoing, and the case was subsequently dismissed after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who brought the indictment was illegally appointed. Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in President George W. Bush’s Republican administration. But the relationship was strained from the start, including after Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his personal loyalty to the president — an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum. Trump fired Comey in May 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered in the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration. The department, for instance, is also pursuing a criminal investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, another key figure in the Russia investigation — one of Trump’s chief grievances and a saga that he and his supporters have long sought retaliation for.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday indicted former FBI Director James Comey, this time over a social media post last year involving a reference to President Donald Trump and seashells, multiple media outlets reported. It’s unclear what crime Comey, one of Trump’s longtime targets, was charged with or in what district the DOJ’s second criminal case against him is located. A previous politically-motivated case against the former FBI director failed after a court found that the Trump loyalist who brought it was unlawfully appointed. The new case stems from an incident in North Carolina last May, when Comey published a photo of seashells arranged ... the beach to read “86 47,” an anti-Trump slogan. When used as slang, “86” can mean to eject, dismiss or remove someone or something, while “47” refers to Trump being the 47th president.

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted again on April 28, 2026, over an Instagram post he made in 2025, which featured seashells arranged in the numbers "86 47." Officials in the Trump administration interpreted this as a threat against President Donald Trump, the 47th president, asserting that "86" implies a call to kill. Comey claimed the post was intended as political commentary, not violence, and deleted it after learning of its controversial interpretation. He has publicly denounced violence. The indictment, filed in North Carolina, charges Comey with threatening the president and transmitting threats via interstate commerce. However, it lacks concrete evidence of intent, relying instead on perceived interpretation by a "reasonable recipient."

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted for a second time by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, this time over an Instagram post that officials say was a veiled threat against the president. The post displayed seashells arranged to form "86 47," which some interpreted as a call to eliminate Trump, the 47th president, as "86" can be slang for getting rid of something. Comey, who had posted the image with the caption "Cool shell formation on my beach walk," later removed it, saying he was unaware of the violent connotation and did not support violence. The Secret Service questioned Comey for several hours, and this incident follows a previous indictment related to alleged false testimony to Congress, which was later dismissed due to the improper appointment of a U.S. Attorney. Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, has since been a vocal critic of the administration. The indictment was brought forward by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer. Simultaneously, Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, was cleared by a federal judge to sue the DOJ over her alleged politically motivated firing in 2025.