Former FBI director James Comey was indicted on Tuesday over allegations that a photo he posted on social media last year constituted a threat against U.S. President Donald Trump. The charges stem from an Instagram post on May 15, 2025, showing seashells arranged to form the numbers "86 47" on a beach.
The indictment states that the image would be interpreted by a reasonable person familiar with the circumstances as a serious expression of intent to harm the President. The number 86 is slang for "to throw out," "to get rid of," or "to refuse service to," according to Merriam-Webster. Since Trump is the 47th president, Republicans and administration officials accused Comey of calling for violence.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, "Threatening the life of the President of the United States is a grave violation of our nation's laws. The grand jury returned an indictment alleging James Comey did just that, at a time when this country has witnessed violent incitement followed by deadly actions against President Trump and other elected officials. The temperature needs to be turned down, and anyone who dials it up and threatens the life of the President will be held accountable."
Background and Response
The Secret Service had interviewed Comey last year about the since-deleted post, which he captioned: "Cool shell formation on my beach walk." The indictment was filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey reportedly owns a beach house. He faces one charge of threatening the life of the president and one charge of making an interstate threat, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.
Comey responded to the indictment with a video on his Substack account, stating: "I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So, let's go." After deleting the photo last year, he posted a statement saying he "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." While promoting his book in New York last May, Comey explained that his wife spotted the seashells and they discussed the number 86, which he remembered as slang for something boring that should be "ditched."
Last September, Comey was indicted on charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice, but the case was dismissed by a judge who ruled that the prosecutor, then-interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed.
