The halls of the Department of Justice have rarely seen a day as surreal as Tuesday, April 28, 2026. In an announcement that has reignited the firestorm surrounding the Trump administration’s treatment of its perceived political rivals, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed that a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina has returned a two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey.
The charge? Threatening the life of the President of the United States. The evidence? A photograph of seashells.
For James Comey, this marks the second time in less than a year that he has found himself in the crosshairs of a DOJ led by the man he once investigated. While his first indictment in late 2025 on charges of lying to Congress was eventually tossed by a judge, this latest legal maneuver centers on a digital communication that prosecutors claim crosses the line from political dissent into criminal intent.
The “86 47” Controversy
The epicenter of the government’s case is a post made by Comey on Instagram in May 2025. During a beach walk in North Carolina, the former FBI chief shared a photo of seashells meticulously arranged in the sand to form the numbers “86 47.”
In the parlance of the service industry and general slang, to “86” something is to eject, cancel, or remove it. “47,” meanwhile, is the widely recognized shorthand for Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States. Prosecutors argue that the combination is a coded call for the President’s removal—not by the ballot box, but by force.
The indictment alleges that Comey violated 18 U.S.C. § 871, which prohibits knowingly and willfully making threats against the President, and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), involving the transmission of threats in interstate commerce. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who stepped into the role following the departure of Pam Bondi, was blunt in his assessment during a Tuesday press conference.
“Threatening the life of the President is a grave violation of our nation’s laws,” Blanche stated. “The grand jury returned an indictment alleging James Comey did just that, at a time when this country has witnessed violent incitement. The temperature needs to be turned down, and anyone who dials it up will be held accountable.”
A History of Legal Escalation
This is not Comey’s first brush with the 2025-2026 DOJ. In September 2025, he was indicted in Virginia on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. That case centered on his 2020 testimony regarding the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation.
However, that initial prosecution collapsed in November 2025. U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed the charges without prejudice, ruling that the Trump administration had unlawfully appointed Lindsey Halligan as the prosecutor to oversee the case, bypassing the traditional Senate confirmation process.
The dismissal was seen as a massive blow to the administration’s “accountability” agenda, but Tuesday’s indictment makes it clear that the DOJ was far from finished. This time, prosecutors have shifted the venue to North Carolina and changed the nature of the charges from administrative perjury to national security threats.
The Role of Kash Patel
The indictment also features strong rhetoric from FBI Director Kash Patel, who has been a vocal critic of Comey for nearly a decade. Patel, who was installed at the head of the bureau with a mandate to “clean house,” praised the investigation into his predecessor.
“James Comey disgracefully encouraged a threat on President Trump’s life and posted it on Instagram for the world to see,” Patel said in a statement. “As the former Director of the FBI, he knew full well the consequences of making such a post.”
Critics, however, point to the personal nature of the conflict. Comey and Trump have been in a public feud since Trump fired him in May 2017. Since then, Comey has branded Trump as “morally unfit,” while Trump has frequently called for Comey to be jailed for “treason” and “spying.”
The Defense: Free Speech or “True Threat”?
Comey’s legal team, led by former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, has vowed to fight the charges, describing them as a blatant assault on the First Amendment. In a video statement posted to Substack shortly after the indictment, a visibly weary but defiant Comey maintained his innocence.
“Well, they’re back,” Comey said. “This time about a picture of seashells on a beach. I assumed they were a political message left by someone else, and I shared it as a commentary on the state of our politics. I am still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”
Legal experts are skeptical of the DOJ’s chances in court. To secure a conviction under § 871, the government must prove that the communication was a “true threat”—one that a reasonable person would interpret as a serious expression of intent to harm.
“Posting numbers on a beach constitutes a threat? I just don’t accept that,” said Jimmy Gurulé, a Notre Dame law professor. “They are going to have to prove that to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, and given the ambiguous nature of the slang ’86,’ it is a very high legal threshold to cross.”
Political Fallout
The reaction on Capitol Hill has been split predictably along party lines. Republican allies of the President, such as Senator JD Vance, have hailed the indictment as a necessary step in restoring the rule of law. Meanwhile, Democrats, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, have decried the move as a “vindictive prosecution” aimed at silencing critics.
“The DOJ is clearly desperate to continue to appease Donald Trump by appealing to his worst instincts for petty retribution,” Durbin said on Tuesday.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan. As the nation watches, the trial is expected to become a landmark test of whether political metaphors can be criminalized in an increasingly polarized America. If convicted, Comey faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Sources Used and Links:
- U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ): Federal Grand Jury Indicts Former FBI Director James Comey for Threats to Harm President Trump
- The Washington Post: James Comey indicted over 2025 social media post allegedly threatening Trump
- The Guardian: Justice department claims James Comey made ‘threat to kill’ Trump
- WTTW News: Ex-FBI Director James Comey Indicted in Probe Over Online Post
- NPR (WGCU): Grand jury indicts former FBI director James Comey for a second time
- Financial Times: Ex-FBI head James Comey charged with threatening Donald Trump’s life
- CBS News: Comey indicted again on charges stemming from Instagram post
- CNN: Trump’s DOJ indicts ex-FBI Director Comey a 2nd time
- Wikipedia: Prosecution of James Comey
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