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Former FBI Director James Comey charged with threatening Trump

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Former FBI Director James Comey (Credit: The New Yorker)

Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with threatening to harm President Donald Trump in an Instagram post which showed a number some people associate with a desire to kill, according to prosecutors.

Comey, who served as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 to 2017, posted a photo in May 2025 which depicted seashells spelling “8647”, and captioned: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

In slang, “86” is generally understood to mean to “get rid of” someone, but the numbers are sometimes also used to call for someone’s killing. “47” refers to Trump’s current term as the 47th president.

The post last year sparked outrage from Republicans and Comey later deleted his post. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” he said in a follow-up. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in North Carolina returned an indictment charging Comey with knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States. It also charges him with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

If convicted, the former FBI director could face up to 10 years in prison.

Responding to the indictment, Comey said: “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go. But it’s really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country. This is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be.”

Comey added: “And the good news is, we get closer every day to restoring those values. Keep the faith.”

In September 2025, Comey was charged with making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding in connection to his testimony in 2020 about the FBI’s investigation into links between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Comey pleaded not guilty and the charges were dismissed in November after the prosecutor’s appointment was ruled unlawful. It’s unclear if the Justice Department will try to appeal the ruling.

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