Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted again, this time over a social media post featuring seashells arranged on a beach in a way that prosecutors say could be interpreted as a threat against President Donald Trump.
The case marks the second criminal indictment against Comey in recent months and adds another chapter to his long-running public conflict with Trump, who fired him during his first term while the FBI was investigating possible links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
The latest case centers on an Instagram post from May, when Comey shared a photo of seashells arranged to show the numbers “86 47.” Comey later said he believed the message was political and did not understand that some people might associate the phrase with violence. He deleted the post shortly afterward, saying he opposed violence of any kind.
Despite that explanation, Trump administration officials publicly accused Comey of promoting violence against Trump, the 47th president. The Secret Service interviewed Comey after the post drew attention.
The indictment was filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey said he found the shells while walking on the beach. Prosecutors charged him with knowingly making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat across state lines.
Comey rejected the allegations in a video statement, saying he remains innocent and is ready to fight the case in court.
“They’re back — this time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago,” Comey said. “But nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”
The indictment does not publicly lay out detailed evidence showing that Comey intended to threaten Trump. Instead, prosecutors argue that a reasonable person familiar with the context could interpret the post as a threat.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the case, saying prosecutors will seek to prove intent through witnesses, documents and other evidence. He also rejected claims that Comey is being targeted for political reasons, arguing that the Justice Department regularly investigates and prosecutes threats regardless of the public profile of the accused.
Comey’s lawyers strongly denied the charges and said they will challenge the case in court, framing it as both a legal and free speech issue. They said Comey “vigorously denies” the accusations and expects to be cleared.
Trump, however, has insisted that Comey knew the meaning of the numbers. In a May interview with Fox News, Trump said the message was obvious and accused the former FBI director of understanding exactly how it would be read.
The new indictment comes after a separate case against Comey was dismissed. In that earlier matter, he had been accused of lying to Congress in 2020 about whether he authorized information to be shared with a journalist. Comey denied wrongdoing, and a judge later threw out the case after finding that the prosecutor who brought it had been improperly appointed.
The latest prosecution is likely to intensify debate over the line between political speech and criminal threats, while also renewing scrutiny of the Justice Department’s handling of high-profile cases involving Trump’s political rivals.
