Comey was also charged with a count related to threatening criminal conduct across state lines through online or other interstate communications.
The Department of Justice on April 28 announced that former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on charges relating to threatening to kill or harm President Donald Trump.
“Today, a grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned an indictment against James Comey on two counts,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at an April 28 news conference.
Blanche announced that Comey had been charged with one count of making threats against the president for a social media post he made in 2025 that was interpreted as a call for violence against Trump. The charge is a criminal offense under 18 U.S. Code Section 871 that carries penalties ranging from a fine to five years in federal prison.
Comey was also charged with a count related to threatening criminal conduct across state lines through online or other interstate communications. The related offense under 18 U.S. Code Section 875 carries the same penalties as the initial charge.
“Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice,” Blanche said.
“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 and regularly prosecute.”
Comey has maintained that he is innocent of any intentional wrongdoing in the case.
“Well, they’re back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago,” Comey said in a video posted to his Substack on April 28, referencing the social media post that sits at the center of the case.
The post showed the numbers “8647” written in seashells on sand. To “86” is to get rid of, discard, or remove. In some contexts, it has been used as a euphemism for killing someone. Administration officials and other Trump allies say Comey’s post was a call for violence against Trump, the 47th president.
“Nothing has changed with me,” Comey said. “I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let’s go.”
Last year, after receiving backlash for the post, Comey deleted it, saying that he had not understood that any violent meaning was associated with the phrase and emphasizing that he opposes violence in all forms.
He was interviewed by the Secret Service in May 2025 about the incident. The Justice Department initially chose not to take further action on the matter; however, Republican officials have revisited the incident in recent months.
Trump, in a Fox News interview in May 2025, rejected Comey’s claims that he did not know that the post could be interpreted as having a violent meaning, accusing Comey of knowing “exactly what that meant.”
“A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear.”
By Jackson Richman and Joseph Lord
