The allegations stem from a social media post that was interpreted as a coded threat against the sitting US president

A federal grand jury has indicted former FBI Director James Comey for making threats against US President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison.

The DOJ alleges that “a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances” would interpret Comey’s May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells arranged in the sand to form the numbers ‘86 47’ as “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the president of the United States.”

Critics noted that ‘86’ is slang for eliminating someone, and that Comey’s post could be viewed as a call to kill Trump, who is serving as the 47th president.

Comey denied the allegations, saying he “didn’t realize some people associate those numbers with violence.” He deleted the seashell post shortly after the backlash.

Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered.

This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!! pic.twitter.com/4LUK6crHAT

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 15, 2025

“Threatening the life of the president of the United States is a grave violation of our nation’s laws,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “This country has witnessed violent incitement followed by deadly actions against President Trump and other elected officials.”

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The indictment came just days after a failed attempt to kill Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC on Saturday. Trump also survived two assassination attempts during his 2024 reelection campaign. Republicans and Democrats have accused each other of incitement amid a wave of attacks on officials and activists.

Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 to 2017 under former President Barack Obama, has often criticized Trump, who he compared to a mob boss in his memoirs. 

Last year, a federal grand jury indicted Comey for lying to Congress, a charge later dismissed by a judge.