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Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on 2 federal felony counts over a social media post that prosecutors say amounted to a threat against President Donald Trump, opening a politically explosive case that is likely to test the line between criminal threats and protected speech.
The indictment was announced Tuesday by the Justice Department and filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Prosecutors say Comey posted an image on Instagram on May 15, 2025, showing seashells arranged to read “86 47.”
DOJ alleges a reasonable person familiar with the circumstances would interpret the message as a serious expression of intent to harm Trump, the 47th president of the United States.
What Prosecutors Allege
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Comey is charged with threatening the president under 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). DOJ says he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted, while also stressing that an indictment is only an accusation and that Comey is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the case as a matter of national safety, saying threats against the president would not be tolerated.
FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators followed the facts and accused Comey of encouraging a threat against Trump. U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said the grand jury found probable cause after reviewing the evidence.
KNOE, citing Gray DC reporting, said the indictment centers on the Instagram image of seashells arranged as “86, 47.” The report also noted that “86” is commonly used as slang for ejecting, dismissing, or removing someone, a meaning prosecutors appear to rely on as they argue the post carried a darker implication in context.
Comey Says He Opposes Violence
Comey has denied that the post was intended as a threat. According to AP, he deleted the image shortly after backlash erupted and wrote that he had not realized some people associated the numbers with violence.
He said he thought the shells carried a political message and added that he opposed violence of any kind.
That explanation will likely sit at the center of the case. Federal prosecutors must prove more than public outrage or ambiguous symbolism.
They will have to persuade a jury that Comey’s post legally qualified as a threat, not merely provocative political expression.
A Case Wrapped In Political History
The indictment lands inside a long and bitter history between Comey and Trump. Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 while the FBI was investigating possible links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
The 2 men have feuded publicly ever since, and AP described the new prosecution as part of the Trump administration Justice Department’s broader effort to pursue political opponents.
Reuters reported that Comey has now been charged with threatening the life of the president and making a threat in interstate commerce, citing the indictment filed Tuesday.
The timing also matters. AP noted that the new case comes months after a separate, unrelated indictment against Comey was dismissed, a fact that could fuel defense arguments that prosecutors are targeting him because of his political history with Trump.
The First Amendment Battle Ahead
The legal question is stark: when does a cryptic political post become a criminal threat?
Prosecutors will argue that the phrase “86 47,” viewed against the nation’s current political violence concerns and Comey’s former position as FBI director, crossed that line. Comey’s defense is expected to argue that the post was vague, nonliteral, and protected by the First Amendment.
For now, the case gives both sides a high-stakes forum: DOJ gets a prosecution it says is about protecting the president, while Comey gets a courtroom in which to argue that the government is criminalizing political speech.
The trial ahead may turn less on the seashells themselves than on whether prosecutors can prove what Comey meant, and what the law allows the government to punish.
