The US Justice Department has once again indicted James Comey — this time, for an alleged threat the former FBI director made to President Donald Trump on Instagram, as CNN previously reported. In its indictment filed in North Carolina federal court on Tuesday, the DOJ cited a now-deleted image posted on Instagram last May that showed an oyster arrangement forming the number “8647.”
The DOJ claims that “a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would understand this as a serious expression of intent to cause harm.” According to Merriam-Webster the phrase “eighty-six” can be used as slang meaning “to get rid of” or “to throw out”, while Trump is the 47th President of the United States. The caption on Comey’s post read, “Great rock formation on my beach walk.”
During a press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche claimed that Comey “knowingly and knowingly threatened Trump’s life and bodily harm”. The DOJ is charging Comey with threatening the president and threatening interstate commerce.
Comey said after deleting the post on May 15, “I previously posted a photo of some shells that I saw while walking on the beach today, which I took to be a political message.” “I didn’t know some people associated those numbers with violence. That never happened to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took down the post.” Comey was previously convicted in September 2025 of allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing congressional proceedings. A judge later dismissed the case.
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