A federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted former FBI Director James Comey over a controversial Instagram submit from final 12 months that President Donald Trump and members of his administration claimed was a menace towards the president.
Renewing efforts to prosecute one among Trump’s longtime adversaries, Division of Justice prosecutors introduced the case after a choose final 12 months threw out an indictment towards Comey on unrelated costs.
The brand new indictment facilities on an argument that erupted practically a 12 months in the past when Comey, in a since-deleted Instagram post, shared an image displaying the numbers “86 47” written in seashells on the seaside with the caption “Cool shell formation on my seaside stroll.” Citing the slang which means of “86” as to “nix” or “get rid” of one thing, allies of the president allege that the submit was a veiled menace towards Trump, who’s the forty seventh president.
As outlined within the brief, three-page indictment, Comey faces one cost of Threats Towards the President and Successors and one cost of Transmitting a Menace in Interstate Commerce.
Prosecutors within the indictment say the submit constitutes a menace that any “affordable recipient who’s aware of the circumstances would interpret as a critical expression of an intent to do hurt to the President of america.”
Comey’s attorneys didn’t have an instantaneous response to information of the indictment when reached by ABC Information.
CNN was first to report an indictment had been handed up.
A screengrab exhibits a social media submit made by James Comey in Might 2025.
@comey/Instagram
Prosecutors will seemingly face a excessive authorized bar to show that the Instagram submit constituted a “true menace,” which the Supreme Courtroom in 2023 discovered required displaying a person understood their message could be perceived as threatening. With the phrase “86 47” more and more adopted by protesters of the Trump administration, the case might carry sweeping implications for the First Modification.
When requested concerning the submit final 12 months, Trump steered that Comey ought to be prosecuted over the submit, which Trump alleged was a name “for the assassination of the president.”
“He knew precisely what that meant. A baby is aware of what that meant. In the event you’re the FBI director and you do not know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear,” Trump instructed Fox Information final 12 months.
On the time, Trump stated he would go away a call about charging Comey to then-Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi, although he insisted that Comey was a “soiled cop.”
“While you add his historical past to that … he is a grimy cop. And if he had a clear historical past, I might perceive if there was a leniency, however I will allow them to make that call,” Trump stated.
Following backlash over the submit, Comey eliminated the photograph from Instagram and stated he was unaware that the submit might be related to violence.
Former FBI Director James Comey speaks throughout a Senate Intelligence Committee listening to on Capitol Hill, in Washington, June 8, 2017.
Andrew Harnik/AP
“I posted earlier an image of some shells I noticed at this time on a seaside stroll, which I assumed had been a political message. I did not notice some people affiliate these numbers with violence. It by no means occurred to me however I oppose violence of any variety so I took the submit down,” Comey stated on Might 15.
The submit drew swift criticism from the Trump administration, with White Home workers describing the submit “deeply regarding” and Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard calling for Comey to be imprisoned.
“James Comey in my opinion ought to be held accountable and put behind bars for this,” Gabbard instructed Fox Information.
Comey isn’t the primary public determine to face pushback for invoking quantity “86,” with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drawing criticism in 2020 for showing throughout a tv interview with a small figurine of the numbers “86 45” on a desk behind her, and related “86 46” references showing on-line throughout Joe Biden’s presidency.
Comey was indicted final 12 months on unrelated costs for allegedly mendacity to Congress and obstruction associated to his testimony earlier than the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020. Comey’s legal professionals moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing the case was politically motivated and that the grand jury by no means noticed the fees of their entirety, and the case was ultimately dismissed over points with the legitimacy of the prosecutor who introduced the case.
“I do know that Donald Trump will in all probability come after me once more, and my angle goes to be the identical,” Comey stated in a video posted to social media after the earlier indictment was thrown out in November. “I am harmless. I’m not afraid, and I consider in an impartial federal judiciary — the present from our founders that protects us from a would-be tyrant.”
The brand new indictment comes because the Division of Justice in current weeks has ramped up investigations of a few of Trump’s perceived political foes below Performing Lawyer Basic Todd Blanche, who’s heading up the Justice Division following Trump’s ouster of Pam Bondi.
Earlier this month, the Division of Justice eliminated a top career prosecutor from a controversial investigation in Florida after sources instructed ABC Information that she had expressed considerations a couple of rushed effort to carry legal costs towards former CIA Director John Brennan.
Prosecutors in April additionally secured an indictment towards the Southern Poverty Legislation Middle — steadily criticized by conservatives for his or her evaluation of hate teams — for financial institution fraud and cash laundering offenses associated to its paying of informants to infiltrate such teams. The group has denied all wrongdoing.
