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https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/28/politics/justice-department-indicts-ex-fbi-director-james-comey-again
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Tuesday over a photo of seashells officials said threatened President Donald Trump, marking the administration’s second attempt to prosecute one of his biggest political opponents, three sources first told CNN.
The charges, approved by a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina where Comey allegedly took the photo, include making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, according to court documents.
Comey responded to the indictment Tuesday in a video posted to his Substack account.
“I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid,” Comey said. “And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.”
Comey is expected to self-surrender on Wednesday to law enforcement at federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to a federal official familiar.
The new case represents a reinvigorated effort to satisfy Trump’s demands to investigate his own foes, including Comey, who he sees as a key leader in the perceived effort to “weaponize” the justice system against him.
It also comes less than a month after the president dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump had for weeks complained that Bondi was not aggressive enough in executing his agenda.
This now-deleted Instagram post from James Comey shows seashells spelling out the numbers “86 47.” The number 86 can often refer to getting rid of or tossing something out, while 47 corresponds to Trump’s current term in office as the 47th president. Republicans claimed that it was a threat against President Donald Trump, while Comey said he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.” James Comey/Instagram
Todd Blanche, Bondi’s top deputy and a former Trump personal attorney, is now in charge of steering the department, and has moved quickly to act on matters that the president has publicly pushed for.
“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” Blanche said at a press conference Tuesday.
Tuesday’s indictment is centered on a picture Comey posted on social media last May, of shells on a beach writing out the numbers “86 47.” He wrote in the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Almost immediately following his post, Republicans and administration officials went full bore in their criticism of Comey for what they said amounted to a death threat.
When used as slang, the number 86 can refer to getting rid of or tossing something out. Trump is currently the 47th president.
James Comey responds to new DOJ indictment
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Then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Comey would be investigated by the Secret Service over what she said was a call “for the assassination” of Trump. The former FBI director sat for an hours-long interview with agents in Washington, DC — an uncommon step by the agency over a non-specific threat — and investigators he saw the shells on a beach in North Carolina.
Court records indicate that an arrest warrant was issued for Comey, but that doesn’t always indicate an arrest is imminent.
Supreme Court precedent has placed a high bar for convictions in threat cases like these, and former prosecutors and First Amendment scholars alike were highly skeptical the new prosecution would be successful.
“This is not going anywhere. This is clearly not a punishable threat,” Eugene Volokh, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University who specializes in First Amendment law, told CNN.