James Comey indicted again over alleged threat against Trump

James Comey faced a second federal indictment on Tuesday as prosecutors in the Eastern District of North Carolina accused the former FBI director of threatening President Donald Trump, a charge that raises the political and legal stakes around a case already defined by confrontation. A federal grand jury returned two counts under 18 U.S.C. § 871 and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), and a warrant was issued for Comey’s arrest. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan.

The new indictment stems from a May 15, 2025 Instagram post in which Comey briefly shared a beach image of seashells arranged to read “86 47.” Prosecutors said a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret the post as a serious expression of intent to harm Trump. Comey is 65.

Comey pushed back in a video posted to Substack, rejecting the charges and framing the case as an attack on both him and the justice system. “This is not who we are as a country,” he said. “This is not what the Department of Justice is supposed to be.” He added, “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So, let’s go.” His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said Comey “vigorously denies the charges” and that the defense would fight the case in court while pressing a First Amendment argument.

The indictment immediately sharpened the institutional fight around Trump’s Justice Department. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said threatening the president’s life “will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice,” while FBI Director Kash Patel said Comey “disgracefully encouraged a threat on President Trump’s life” and praised the work of investigators. The public posture from top law enforcement officials signaled that prosecutors intend to treat the post as more than a political provocation.

It was also Comey’s second prosecution by Trump’s Justice Department in a matter of months. In September 2025, a separate federal grand jury indicted him on false statement and obstruction charges tied to his Sept. 30, 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. That earlier case followed sustained pressure from Trump on the Justice Department and triggered upheaval in the U.S. attorney’s office, including the resignation of acting U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert. Trump then installed Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney, and Troy Edwards, a senior prosecutor in Alexandria and the husband of one of Comey’s daughters, resigned and said he was leaving “to uphold my oath to the Constitution and country.”

The latest indictment does more than add another count. It extends a legal and political campaign that now reaches across two separate prosecutions, with Comey insisting on his innocence and prosecutors signaling they are not done.