In a high-profile development echoing deep political divisions in the second Trump administration, former FBI Director James Comey turned himself in to law enforcement authorities Wednesday to face a criminal charge alleging his viral 2025 Instagram post amounted to a death threat against sitting U.S. President Donald Trump.
The case traces back to a May 2025 social media post from Comey, who shared a photograph of beachcombed seashells arranged on sand to spell out the phrase “86 47”. Federal prosecutors argue the coded message is a clear call for violence against Trump, the 47th U.S. president: the slang term “86” is widely understood to mean “eliminate” or “get rid of”, they claim.
Comey, a longstanding public critic of Trump, has repeatedly denied any intentional wrongdoing. He maintains he had no knowledge of the phrase’s alleged violent connotations when he posted the image, and has leveled counterclaims that the prosecution is driven entirely by political retribution. During a brief initial hearing at a federal court in Virginia, Comey declined to speak on the record, but his legal team has signaled they will frame the prosecution as a vindictive effort to punish Comey for his public criticism of the president.
This indictment marks the second time the Department of Justice has brought criminal charges against Comey under the second Trump administration. Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has openly suggested that DOJ officials should pursue investigations against his political opponents. Comey is not the only high-profile foe of the president to face indictment; New York Attorney General Tish James, who brought civil fraud charges against Trump before his second term, has also been targeted by federal prosecutors.
Attorney General Todd Blanche pushed back hard against claims of political motivation during comments to CBS News, a partner outlet of the BBC. “Of course, it’s serious when you threaten the President of the United States,” Blanche said. “Anybody that tries to put forward some narrative that this is just about seashells, or something to the contrary is missing the point. You cannot threaten the President of the United States.” Blanche also drew a connection between the Comey case and a recent security incident at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, where an intruder attempted to rush the ballroom where Trump was speaking before being stopped by U.S. Secret Service agents.
After the original post sparked widespread public backlash, Comey deleted the image and issued a follow-up statement on Instagram. “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assume were a political message,” he wrote. “I 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.”
In the official indictment, prosecutors argued that any reasonable person familiar with the current political context would interpret the seashell image as a serious threat against the president’s life. The single charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, a fine, or both, if Comey is convicted.
Even among some Republican allies of the president, the strength of the government’s case has drawn skepticism. North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters Wednesday that he hoped prosecutors have more evidence beyond the photograph itself. “Otherwise, I just think it’s another example where we’re going to regret this because we’re setting a fairly low bar,” Tillis said. Multiple legal experts have also publicly questioned whether the charge meets the standard for a criminal threat, given Comey’s immediate removal of the post and disavowal of any violent intent.
This is not Comey’s first brush with criminal prosecution under the second Trump administration. He was originally indicted by a federal grand jury last September on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation. Comey entered a not guilty plea in October, but the entire case was dismissed by a federal judge in November. U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie tossed the original indictment on the grounds that lead prosecutor Lindsey Halligan had not received a valid appointment to serve as U.S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia, and therefore lacked authority to bring charges before the grand jury. Halligan is also the lead prosecutor on the new threat charge against Comey.