James Comey indicted over Instagram seashell photo that allegedly threatened Trump

The US Department of Justice has once again indicted James Comey — this time, for an alleged threat the former FBI director made toward President Donald Trump on Instagram, as reported earlier by CNN. In its indictment, filed in a North Carolina federal court on Tuesday, the DOJ cites the now-deleted image Comey posted to Instagram last May, which showed a seashell arrangement making up the numbers “8647.”

The DOJ claims “a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm.” The phrase “eighty-six” can be used as slang that means to “get rid of” or “throw out,” according to Merriam-Webster, while Trump is the 47th president of the US. The caption on Comey’s post said “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

During a press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche claimed that Comey “knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm” on Trump. The DOJ is charging Comey with threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

”I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey said after taking the post down on May 15th. “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.” Comey was previously indicted in September 2025 for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. A judge later dismissed the case.