Comey, the onetime FBI director who has clashed publicly with Trump since the president fired him in 2017, was indicted Tuesday for a second time in federal court, this time tied to an Instagram post from nearly a year ago that prosecutors and investigators characterized as threatening. The charges were filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey said he found the seashells. The case is the second criminal prosecution against him in recent months.
The new indictment centers on the “86 47” arrangement shown in a seashell photo shared by Comey on Instagram after he saw it on a walk. The Associated Press reported that Comey deleted the post shortly after making it, saying he did not realize some people associated the numbers with violence and that he opposed violence of any kind. Prosecutors, however, alleged the message would be understood as a threat.
According to the two-count indictment, prosecutors accused Comey of “knowingly and willfully” making a threat to “take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” Trump. The filing also charges Comey with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The AP reported that the indictment does not provide evidence that Comey knowingly threatened Trump, highlighting that the case turns on how a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the message.
At a news conference Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to detail evidence prosecutors have about intent. He said, “How do you prove intent in any case? You prove intent with witnesses, with documents, with the defendant himself to the extent it’s appropriate. And that’s how we’ll prove intent in this case.” Blanche also said the case is part of a broader pattern of threat prosecutions that the Justice Department pursues, saying, “While this case is unique and this indictment stands out because of the name of the defendant, his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate and that we will always investigate and regularly prosecute.”
Comey responded with a video statement, saying, “Well, they’re back – this time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago, and this won’t be the end of it.” He added that “nothing has changed with me,” saying he remained “innocent,” that he was “still not afraid,” and that he still believed in an “independent federal judiciary.”
Comey’s defense said it would contest the charges in court. In a statement, Comey’s legal team said they “will contest these charges in the courtroom and look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and the First Amendment,” and that they “vigorously denies” the charges.
The “86 47” reference itself has been part of the dispute. Merriam-Webster, which the AP cited in its reporting, defines 86 as slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to,” and notes that a newer sense can extend to “to kill.” In his case, Comey said he assumed the numbers reflected a political message rather than a call to violence. The AP reported that in a Fox News Channel interview in May, Trump accused Comey of knowing “exactly what that meant,” saying, “A child knows what that meant,” and adding that if the FBI director did not know, it “meant assassination.”
The indictment marks the second criminal case against Comey in recent months. The AP reported that Comey was previously indicted in September on charges that he lied to Congress in 2020 about whether he had authorized information about an investigation to be provided to a journalist. That case was dismissed after a judge ruled the prosecutor who brought the indictment was illegally appointed.
Beyond the courtroom fights, the AP said the new prosecution also arrives amid broader concerns raised by Comey’s allies and critics about how the Trump administration’s Justice Department has pursued cases against political opponents. Blanche, who was elevated earlier this month to acting attorney general, has moved quickly on politically charged prosecutions, the AP reported, and Comey is one of several longtime figures tied to investigations that helped define Trump’s first term.