Ex-FBI Director Comey indicted again, in a probe over an online post
officials call a Trump threat
[April 29, 2026]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted again
Tuesday, this time over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a
beach that officials said constituted a threat against President Donald
Trump.
The criminal case is the second in months against Comey and is part of
the Trump administration Justice Department's relentless effort to
prosecute political opponents of the Republican president. The seashells
photo was posted nearly a year ago, but the indictment was secured at a
time when acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a Trump loyalist who
previously served as his personal lawyer, aims to prove to the president
that he is the right person to hold the job permanently.
The fact that the Justice Department pursued a new case months after a
separate and unrelated indictment was dismissed could expose the
government to claims of a vindictive prosecution and to arguments that
it is going out of its way to target Comey, who as FBI director had
overseen the early months of an investigation into whether Trump's 2016
campaign had coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of that year’s
election.
Comey was fired by Trump months into the president’s first term as that
investigation was underway, and they have openly feuded ever since.
The prosecution arises from a May post on Instagram in which Comey
shared a photo of seashells he saw on a walk in the arrangement of “86
47.” He has said he assumed that the numbers reflected a political
message, not a call to violence. Comey deleted the post shortly after it
was made, writing: “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers
with violence” and “I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post
down.”
Nonetheless, Comey was swiftly interviewed by the Secret Service after
Trump administration officials asserted that he was advocating the
assassination of Trump, the 47th president.
The case was filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the state
where Comey found the seashells.
“Well, they’re back – this time about a picture of seashells on a North
Carolina beach a year ago, and this won’t be the end of it,” Comey said
in a video statement Tuesday. “But nothing has changed with me. I’m
still innocent, I’m still not afraid and I still believe in the
independent federal judiciary. So let’s go.”
The two-count indictment charges Comey with “knowingly and willfully”
making a threat to “take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon"
Trump and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. It does not
provide evidence that Comey knowingly threatened Trump, especially since
Comey has said the opposite, but suggested a “reasonable recipient who
is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the message as a
threat.
At a news conference Tuesday, Blanche refused to elaborate on any
evidence of intent the government has but said: “How do you prove intent
in any case? You prove intent with witnesses, with documents, with the
defendant himself to the extent it's appropriate. And that's how we'll
prove intent in this case.”
And in an effort to rebut claims that Comey was being selectively
prosecuted, Blanche contended the case against the former FBI director
was similar to other threats cases the department routinely brings
against the lesser known.
“While this case is unique and this indictment stands out because of the
name of the defendant, his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct
that we will never tolerate and that we will always investigate and
regularly prosecute,” Blanche said.
Comey's legal team said in a statement that they “will contest these
charges in the courtroom and look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and
the First Amendment.” They said he “vigorously denies” the charges.
[to top of second column]
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FBI Director Kash Patel, left, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche,
center, and Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of
of N.C., announce that former FBI Director James Comey has been
indicted, at the Justice Department in Washington, Tuesday, April
28, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
What 86 means
Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says
86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse
service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a
logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to
kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and
sparseness of use.”
Trump, in a Fox News Channel interview in May, accused Comey of
knowing “exactly what that meant."
“A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. "If you’re the FBI
director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant
assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”
Comey's first indictment
The former FBI director was indicted in September on charges he lied
to Congress in 2020 about whether he had authorized information
about an investigation to be provided to a journalist. He denied any
wrongdoing. The case was dismissed after a judge concluded the
prosecutor who brought the indictment was illegally appointed.
Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having
been appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and
serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in
President George W. Bush’s Republican administration.
But the relationship was strained from the start, including after
Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his
personal loyalty to the president -- an overture that so unnerved
the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous
memorandum.
Trump fired Comey in May 2017 amid an FBI investigation into
potential ties between Russia and Trump’s campaign. That inquiry,
later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, found that while
Russia interfered in the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed
the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal
collaboration.
Other politically charged prosecutions
Blanche was elevated earlier this month from deputy attorney general
to acting attorney general, replacing Pam Bondi, who had frustrated
Trump with the department's struggles to build successful criminal
cases against his adversaries.
Blanche since then has moved quickly to accelerate politically
charged prosecutions, including a case last week against the
nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, which is accused by the
Justice Department of misleading donors by using their money to pay
informants who served as leaders in the hate groups the organization
was founded to fight. The group has denied any wrongdoing.
Comey is among many Trump foes to face scrutiny over the last year.
The Justice Department, for instance, is also pursuing a criminal
investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, another key
figure in the Russia investigation -- one of Trump’s chief
grievances and a saga he and his supporters have long sought
retaliation for. Brennan has denied doing anything wrong.
CNN was the first to report the second indictment against Comey.
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