In his second attempt to bring charges against one of his top political critics, the Donald Trump administration indicted former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday (US time). The action, as officials highlighted, was prompted by an alleged threat to the US president’s life.

According to court documents now available publicly, the charges listed in the renewed indictment were approved by a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Comey especially came under fire last year after he posted a photo of a seashells’ formation appearing to spell out the number “86 47,” where “86” was viewed as a slang term meaning “remove.” The since-deleted IG post ultimately triggered the forma accusation against the former FBI director.

Once again responding to the accusation on Tuesday, Comey said in a Substack video, “I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”

Acting United States Attorney General Todd Blanche, who took over the post after Pam Bondi was dismissed, said at a press conference on Tuesday, “While this case is unique, and this indictment stands out because of the name of the defendant, his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate and that we will always investigate.”

James Comey’s ‘Seashells’ Instagram post that landed him in trouble

This week’s indictment was fuelled by a picture Comey posted on Instagram in May 2025. The now-deleted post pictured a “cool shell information” the former FBI director stumbled upon during a walk on the beach. As the seashells spell out the number “86 47,” Republicans instantly saw it as a threat against Trump.

As a slang, “86” can refer to getting rid of something. Meanwhile, the numbers “47” were viewed as an allusion to Trump himself – the 47th president of the USA. While at the time Comey quickly deleted the post amid mounting backlash, he also clarified his stance online, saying, he “didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence.”

He added, “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

This is a developing story.