DOJ indicts Comey for second time over seashell photo officials say threatened Trump

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announces a second federal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, charging him with making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The charges stem from a photo Comey posted and deleted from Instagram on May 15, 2025, showing seashells on a beach arranged to read "86 47." Comey deleted the post the same day, writing that he had not realized some associate the numbers with violence. A grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina — where Comey has a beach house — approves two felony counts with a combined maximum of 10 years in prison. Blanche holds a press conference announcing the charges. The indictment is assigned to Judge Louise Wood Flanagan. Comey is expected to self-surrender. This is the second time the Trump administration has indicted Comey. A prior case charging him with false statements to Congress and obstruction was dismissed in late 2025 after a federal judge found the prosecutor was not lawfully appointed. Legal experts widely describe the new charges as an overreach. University of Notre Dame law professor Jimmy Gurulé calls it "an embarrassment to the American criminal justice system." Comey responds in a video on Substack: "I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid." His attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says Comey will fight the charges in court.