The US Department of Justice has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of threatening the life of President Donald Trump. The indictment marks the second time the Justice Department has sought to prosecute the former bureau chief.
The criminal charges—two counts, including knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of the President—stem from an Instagram post shared by Comey on May 15, 2025. The image depicted a “cool shell formation" encountered during a beach walk, with seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47".
Federal prosecutors argue that the message was a coded threat. In slang, “86" is often used to mean “eject", “remove", or “kill", while “47" refers to Donald Trump’s status as the 47th President of the United States.
Following the post, the Secret Service interviewed Comey, who subsequently deleted the image and denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not know what the numbers meant, and accused the prosecution of political motivation.
