Comey indicted over seashell Instagram post seen as Trump threat

James Comey was indicted after a federal grand jury said a beach photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47” crossed the line from political commentary into a criminal threat against President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says the 65-year-old former FBI director used Instagram on May 15, 2025, to post the image with the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” then transmitted what prosecutors describe as a serious expression of intent to harm the president.

The indictment, returned Tuesday by a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina, charges Comey under two federal statutes: 18 U.S.C. § 871, which covers threats to take the life of and inflict bodily harm on the president, and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), which covers transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Prosecutors also obtained an arrest warrant. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, though actual sentences are often lower.

The case puts a familiar political feud into a sharper legal frame. Trump and his allies had already treated the post as a threat, and Comey denied that interpretation, saying he did not know the numbers would be understood that way and later saying he opposes violence. The legal question now is whether the image, caption and surrounding context would lead a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances to view it as a true threat, or whether it was an ambiguous post protected by the First Amendment. Legal experts have said the case may hinge on the Supreme Court’s 2023 true-threat standard, making it a potential test of how far prosecutors can go when online symbolism is open to multiple readings.

The response from Trump officials was immediate when the post first drew scrutiny. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service would investigate and respond appropriately. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the indictment came amid a climate in which violent incitement had led to deadly actions against Trump and other officials, while FBI Director Kash Patel called the post disgraceful and said Comey knew the consequences of posting it.

It is Comey’s second federal indictment since Trump’s second presidential term began. A prior case against him was thrown out last year on unrelated charges after a judge found the Trump-appointed prosecutor who brought it was unlawfully appointed. The new case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan, a George W. Bush appointee from 2003, ensuring the next phase of the fight will unfold before a court that must weigh a politically charged prosecution against the limits of protected speech.