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The Department of Justice of the United States formally charged former FBI director James Comey on Tuesday with two counts related to alleged threats against President Donald Trump, in a case that revolves around a photograph posted on Instagram featuring seashells arranged in the pattern "86 47."
According to the formal charge filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, Comey "knowingly and deliberately made a threat to take the life of the President of the United States" by publishing an image in May 2025 that "a reasonable recipient, familiar with the circumstances, would interpret as a serious expression of the intent to cause harm to the president."
The expression "86" is colloquial slang that can mean "to get rid of" or, in more recent uses, "to kill," while "47" refers to Trump as the 47th president of the United States.
Comey deleted the post shortly after making it and denied any violent intent: "I didn’t realize that some people associate those numbers with violence," he wrote at the time, adding: "I oppose any kind of violence, so I deleted the post."
The Secret Service interviewed Comey in May 2025 following the publication, after officials from the Trump administration claimed he was promoting a crime against the president.
The acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed in a press conference that the grand jury issued an arrest warrant, although he clarified that Comey was expected to voluntarily surrender to the authorities in North Carolina during this week.
"It is not my decision, one cannot threaten the President of the United States," declared Blanche, referring to the nature of the accusation.
The Department of Justice assured that "Mr. Comey will receive all types of guarantees and a fair trial," and that they are "determined to prosecute anyone who breaks the law, regardless of their title or position."
The defense categorically rejected the charges. Comey's attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, stated: "Mr. Comey vehemently denies the charges listed in the formal indictment. We will contest these charges in court and hope to exonerate Mr. Comey and defend the First Amendment."
This is the second indictment that the Department of Justice has presented against Comey in less than a year. The first, filed in September 2025 on charges of lying to Congress and obstruction, was dismissed on November 24, 2025, by Federal Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, who determined that Acting Prosecutor Lindsey Halligan had been appointed illegally and unconstitutionally.
That dismissal was "without prejudice," which left the door open for a new accusation.
Comey led the FBI from 2013 to 2017, until Trump fired him while overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, an event that resulted in the appointment of special prosecutor Robert Mueller.
The case occurs against a backdrop in which the DOJ has intensified scrutiny on figures perceived as political rivals of the president, and where Blanche — who replaced Pam Bondi as acting attorney general in April 2026 — is seeking to position himself as a permanent candidate for the role.
Trump, in an interview with Fox News in May 2025, was emphatic about Comey's publication: "A child knows what that meant. If you're the director of the FBI and you don't know what that meant; it meant murder. And he says it loud and clear."
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