James Comey indicted for a second time
The Justice Department is reportedly indicting former FBI Director James comey for a second time within months, this time tied to a now-deleted Instagram post from last summer. Multiple reports say a federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted him over a photo of seashells arranged in sand that spelled “86 47,” which critics interpreted as a veiled threat or reference to “getting rid of” President Donald trump; the phrase is also used on the political left in a similar way.
After the post became public, federal agencies-including the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service-reportedly opened an investigation and even visited Comey’s home.Comey has said he did not realize the message could be associated with violence and claimed he took the post down once it was brought to his attention.
Trump and others reacted sharply, with Trump arguing Comey “knew exactly what that meant” and that it implied assassination. The indictment is described as coming shortly after DOJ charged another man, Cole Allen, with attempting to assassinate Trump over a plot allegedly involving harm to officials at a White House Correspondents’ Association event.
The article also notes that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche attributed recent political violence partly to aggressive or inflammatory rhetoric by media and on the left, and it mentions Trump previously pushed for comey to be prosecuted. Comey’s earlier indictment in september 2025-over alleged lying to Congress related to leaks to the press-was dismissed by a judge due to problems with the appointment of the interim U.S. attorney leading the case.
the piece suggests the “true threat” legal standard from a 2023 Supreme Court decision could make securing a conviction more challenging, and it says the DOJ did not comment to a request but plans a press conference Tuesday.
The Justice Department has reportedly indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a second time in the span of months, this time over a post he made on Instagram last summer that was widely perceived to have threatening connotations against President Donald Trump.
According to multiple reports, a federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted Comey over a since-deleted Instagram post in which he took a picture of seashells in the sand that spelled “86 47,” with the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
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Allies of the president and other critics of Comey saw the arrangement in the sand as a call to “nix” or “get rid” of Trump; the slogan “86 47” has become popular on the Left. The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service promptly started an investigation and even visited Comey’s residence during the fallout from his online post.
Comey previously said he was unaware that the message in the post could be associated with violence, saying, “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Trump responded during a Fox News interview that Comey “knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear,” Trump said. “That meant assassination.”
The indictment comes just one day after the DOJ charged Cole Allen with attempting to assassinate the president over the weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, where he allegedly plotted to kill administration officials “from highest-ranking to lowest.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed members of the media on Monday when asked why he believed there had been a rash of political violence in recent years, noting two prior attempts on Trump, along with acts of violence against Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a National Guard member killed in Washington, D.C., and others.
“When you have reporters, when you have the media just being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason and without evidence, without proof, it shouldn’t surprise us that this type of rhetoric takes place,” Blanche said, referring to increasingly aggressive rhetoric on the Left and in the media that frequently likens Trump and his team to murderous dictators.
Trump previously pushed former Attorney General Pam Bondi to move quickly to indict Comey, who has been accused of playing a key role in Democrat-backed efforts to use the justice system for partisan advantage during Trump’s first term in office and after.
Comey was indicted in September 2025 on charges of lying to Congress over leaks to the press. The case was dismissed last year by a federal judge who found that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who was leading the case, was unlawfully appointed because she was not confirmed by the Senate and had exceeded the allotted number of days in the job.
Critics of Comey have argued that several aspects of his time in government warrant criminal investigation, including the misuse of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants during the FBI’s 2016 election investigation of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
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The case involving the Instagram post could be more difficult to secure a conviction on, if not for the 2023 Supreme Court precedent that elevated the standard for proving a statement or action made is a “true threat.”
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment, though the department is holding a press conference at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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