Trump Administration Indicts Former FBI Director Comey Over Social Media Post Criticizing Trump

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two counts of threatening President Trump under 18 U.S.C. § 871, based on a May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells arranged to read "86 47." This marked Comey's second indictment by the Trump administration, representing an unprecedented prosecution of a former FBI Director for social media criticism. The charges stemmed from Trump's public claims that Comey's post—using "86" (common slang for "to get rid of")—constituted a threat against him. Legal experts, including former federal prosecutors and First Amendment scholars, widely characterized the charges as weaponization of the justice system to silence Trump critics, noting the post appeared to be political commentary protected by the First Amendment rather than a genuine threat. The prosecution followed a pattern of retaliatory legal action against Trump critics and former officials who had investigated him.

"The Department of Justice will not tolerate threats against the President of the United States, regardless of the platform or the person making them." — Statement from DOJ press release announcing the indictment, framing the prosecution as enforcement of threats statute rather than acknowledging First Amendment concerns