James Comey hit with new DOJ indictment over a cryptic beach photo that Trump called a death threat
A tangled web.
The Department of Justice just hit James Comey with a fresh indictment over a now-deleted Instagram post that prosecutors claim was a coded death threat against Donald Trump. Comey shared a beach photo last year, where seashells were arranged to spell out “86 47.” If you’re not familiar, “86” can mean getting rid of something, and Trump was 47th president then. Comey apologized, saying he had no idea the numbers carried violent connotations.
According to The Guardian, the indictment, unsealed on April 28, 2026, argues that a reasonable person “would interpret [the post] as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.” Comey is now facing two felony charges: making a threat against the president and transmitting that threat across state lines via social media. Both counts could land him in prison for up to five years, along with hefty fines.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “I think it’s fair to say that threatening the life of anybody is dangerous and potentially a crime,” he said. “Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice.”
Comey’s legal team is already pushing back hard
His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said, “Mr. Comey vigorously denies the charges contained in the indictment filed in the eastern district of North Carolina. We will contest these charges in the courtroom and look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and the First Amendment.”
Comey himself took to his Substack later that day to post a video. “Well, they’re back,” he said. “This time, about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won’t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me. I am still innocent. I am still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So, let’s go.”
Last year, Comey was indicted for allegedly lying to Congress, but that case was tossed out when a judge ruled the prosecutor had been improperly appointed. The seashell post might seem like a bizarre thing to build a criminal case around, but it landed him in hot water.
After he shared the photo, federal law enforcement officials launched an investigation and even interviewed him about it. The Secret Service got involved, and surveillance teams reportedly tracked his car and phone for weeks. It’s worth noting that the post was widely interpreted as a non-violent, anti-president statement, something plenty of critics have done without facing indictments. But in this case, the DOJ seems determined to make an example out of him.
This latest indictment is part of a pattern
Over the past year, the Justice Department has aggressively pursued cases against several high-profile figures who’ve crossed paths with the president. Letitia James, the New York attorney general, was hit with thinly veiled mortgage fraud allegations last year, but her case was dismissed for the same reason Comey’s earlier indictment was thrown out: the prosecutor lacked proper authority.
The department is also ramping up an investigation into John Brennan, the former CIA director, and last week filed charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center on what many legal experts are calling flimsy grounds. On the same day Comey was indicted, a former top aide to Anthony Fauci was criminally charged over allegations of concealing federal records related to coronavirus research in bats.
Just days before Comey’s indictment was unsealed, a California shooter was arrested outside the White House correspondents’ Dinner in Washington after being found with weapons. He was charged with attempting to assassinate the president. The contrast between the two cases has only fueled accusations that the DOJ is weaponizing its power for political ends.
Comey’s legal troubles don’t end with this indictment, either
On the same day the charges were announced, a federal judge in New York ruled that his daughter, Maurene Comey, could move forward with a wrongful termination lawsuit. She alleges she was fired as a federal prosecutor last year in retaliation for her father’s public criticism of the administration.
The roots of this conflict stretch back nearly a decade, to a time when Comey was still leading the FBI and the president was just a candidate. Their relationship has been a rollercoaster of praise, criticism, and outright hostility. Comey first entered the national spotlight during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he oversaw the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
By October 2016, Comey was back in the headlines for reopening the email investigation after new messages were discovered on a laptop belonging to Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The announcement came just days before the election and was seen by many as a decisive factor in Clinton’s loss. Comey later admitted the move was a mistake. The president, who had once praised Comey’s “guts,” quickly turned on him after taking office.
In May 2017, Trump abruptly fired Comey
The official reason given was a loss of confidence in Comey’s handling of the Clinton email case, but few bought that. Comey later testified that the president had asked him for “loyalty” and pressured him to “let it go” in reference to the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The feud escalated in April 2018 when Comey published his memoir, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership. In it, he called the president “unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values.” By December 2019, Comey was admitting to “real sloppiness” in the FBI’s handling of surveillance related to a Trump campaign adviser, but he vehemently denied any political bias.
(Featured Image: Girard At Large)
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