Former FBI Director James Comey Indicted Over Social Media Post Interpreted as Assassination Threat
Interim US Attorney Erik Siebert leads the renewed prosecution, which centres on an image displaying the numbers "86 47", a sequence President Donald Trump claims constitutes a clear threat to his life.
Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted for a second time by US authorities, this time regarding a social media post featuring seashells arranged to spell the numbers "86 47". The Department of Justice interprets the sequence as a threat of assassination against President Donald Trump, a reading supported by the President himself during a recent interview with Fox News.
The current legal action marks a renewed prosecution five months after a separate indictment against Comey was quashed. The earlier charges, filed in September 2025, alleged false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. Those proceedings were dismissed in November 2025 following a ruling that the US attorney who initiated the charges had been unlawfully appointed.
Comey maintains that the Instagram image was shared as a casual photograph from a beach walk. He stated that he initially assumed the arrangement of shells was a political message but deleted the post after realising the numbers could be associated with violence. In his defence, he claimed he did not initially understand the specific meaning of the sequence as a threat, though he opposed violence of any kind.
President Trump has asserted that the message was clear, interpreting "86" as slang for kill and "47" as a reference to his status as the 47th president. The administration's interpretation of the digital conduct as a political threat contrasts sharply with Comey's insistence on his ignorance of the numerical code at the time of posting.
The current prosecution is being led by Interim US Attorney Erik Siebert. This appointment follows Siebert's departure from the role after he reportedly advised Justice Department leaders that there was insufficient evidence to charge Comey in the earlier proceeding, a decision that contributed to the dismissal of the first case.
Comey served as FBI Director from 2013 to 2017 under President Barack Obama before being fired by President Trump in 2017 amid a probe into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Since taking office, President Trump has taken punitive measures against perceived political enemies, including purging government officials and targeting law firms involved in past cases against him.
