&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Former FBI Director Comey indicted over ‘86 47’ post amid Trump threat allegations")
A federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted former FBI Director James Comey over a controversial Instagram post from last year that was alleged by Donald Trump and his allies to be a threat against the president, ABC News reported, citing sources.
The indictment marks a renewed attempt by the Department of Justice to pursue legal action against one of Trump’s long-time adversaries. Prosecutors moved ahead with the case after a judge last year dismissed an earlier indictment against Comey on unrelated charges.
The case revolves around a now-deleted Instagram post in which Comey shared an image of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47,” captioned: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
The post quickly drew political backlash. Allies of Trump pointed to the slang interpretation of “86” as meaning to “get rid of” something, arguing that the message amounted to a veiled threat. Investigations were subsequently launched by the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Secret Service.
When asked about the post last year, Trump said, “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”
Trump added, “When you add his history to that ... he's a dirty cop. And if he had a clean history, I could understand if there was leniency, but I'm going to let them make that decision.”
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Legal experts note that prosecutors may face a high bar in proving the post constituted a “true threat.” In a 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States said such cases require evidence that the individual understood their message would be perceived as threatening.
The controversy also feeds into a broader debate over free speech, particularly as similar “86” references have appeared in political discourse in recent years.
Following the backlash, Comey removed the post and clarified his intent. “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn't realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” he said on May 15.
James Comey was also indicted last year on separate charges, including allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction linked to his testimony before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020.
