James Comey Indicted Again By U.S. Justice Department Over Seashell Photo Threatening Donald Trump

Former FBI director James Comey was indicted again by the US Justice Department on Tuesday over a social media photo of seashells officials said threatened President Donald Trump, according to multiple outlets.

“James Comey indicted again, this time over seashell Instagram post Comey faces two charges, including Threats Against the President and Successors”

ABC News

NBC News said the two-count indictment alleges that a reasonable person would interpret the image of the shells, arranged to spell “86 47,” as “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.”

ABC News

NPR reported that the grand jury handed up an indictment unsealed on Tuesday and filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and it said the grand jury also issued a warrant for Comey’s arrest.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters that “Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice,” and he said each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

CNN said the charges approved by a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina include making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

Comey responded in a video posted to his Substack account saying, “I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid,” and “I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.”

CNBC reported that an arrest warrant for Comey, requested by federal prosecutors, was issued according to his case docket, and it said the indictment marks the second time Comey has been federally indicted since Trump’s second presidential term began.

The indictment centers on a seashell image Comey posted on Instagram last May, which officials said constituted a threat against Trump.

CNN said the Tuesday indictment is centered on a picture Comey posted on social media last May, of shells on a beach writing out the numbers “86 47,” and it said he wrote in the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Al Jazeera

NPR described the arrangement as “8647” on a North Carolina beach, and it quoted the indictment language saying Comey “did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States.”

NBC News said the Justice Department sought the indictment in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey has a beach house and where he posted the beach scene photo.

BBC reported that the image posted on Instagram last year showed seashells forming the numbers “86 47,” and it said “Eighty-six” is a slang term used to mean “eject” or “remove,” while Comey insisted he did not know what the numbers meant.

BBC also reported that Comey deleted the Instagram post, saying in a follow-up that he “assumed [the sea shells] were a political message,” and he added, “I didn't realise some folks associate those numbers with violence.”

CNBC said Comey posted a video response on Substack entitled “Seashells,” and it quoted him saying, “I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let's go.”

NBC News added that Comey said he deleted the post because it never occurred to him that it would be interpreted as being violent, and it quoted his later explanation that he assumed the shells were “a political message” and that he “didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” adding that he opposed violence “of any kind.”

The dispute in the case is tightly tied to intent and the boundary between political speech and prosecutable threats.

CNN said the case is likely to be an uphill battle for prosecutors because the charges require proof that Comey “knowingly and willfully” made a threat to “take the life of” the president, and it quoted Eugene Volokh saying, “This is not going anywhere. This is clearly not a punishable threat.”

NPR similarly described questions about free speech, saying several legal experts have said Comey’s photo seemed to fall in the bounds of political speech protected by the First Amendment, while it also quoted Blanche pushing back that “You are not allowed to threaten the President of the United States of America.”

NBC News reported that Blanche did not offer any evidence that Comey “knowingly and willfully” made a threat, and it quoted Blanche saying, “How do you prove intent in any case? You prove intent with witnesses, with documents, with the defendant himself to the extent it's appropriate.”

BBC reported that Comey insisted he did not know what the numbers meant, and it quoted Comey saying, “I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”

CNBC said Comey’s lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald stated, “Mr. Comey vigorously denies the charges contained in the Indictment filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina,” and it added that Fitzgerald said, “We will contest these charges in the courtroom and look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and the First Amendment.”

PBS said Comey’s legal team said they “will contest these charges in the courtroom and look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and the First Amendment,” and it quoted Blanche saying, “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.”

In addition, BBC reported that Comey deleted the post and said, “I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” while NPR quoted the indictment’s framing that a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the message as a threat.

The indictment is presented across outlets as the second attempt to prosecute Comey, following a prior case that was dismissed by a federal judge.

BBC said Tuesday’s charges are the administration’s second attempt to do so, and it reported that Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in late September on charges that he lied to Congress during testimony in September 2020 and obstructed a congressional proceeding.

BBC

BBC also reported that US District Judge Cameron Currie tossed the indictment against Comey because of prosecutor Lindsey Halligan's “invalid” appointment as US attorney, and it said Halligan was not authorised to present the charges to the grand jury.

CNBC said the indictment marks the second time Comey has been federally indicted since Trump’s second presidential term began, and it said the case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan, appointed by former President George W. Bush.

NPR said the indictment is the second time the Trump DOJ has gotten an indictment against Comey, and it described the earlier case as dismissed in November after Judge Cameron McGowan Currie found that the acting U.S. attorney who secured the indictments, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed.

Al Jazeera said the latest prosecution comes after an earlier Justice Department criminal case against Comey fell apart last year, and it said the indictment is part of Trump’s Justice Department effort to prosecute political opponents.

PBS said the prosecution arises from a May post on Instagram in which Comey shared a photo of seashells he saw on a walk in the arrangement of “86 47,” and it said the case is the second in months against Comey.

France 24 said the indictment came five months after a previous case was dismissed, and it said Comey was indicted in September with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, and a federal judge threw out the case in November on the grounds that the US attorney handpicked by Trump was unlawfully appointed.

Reactions to the indictment split sharply between officials defending the prosecution and critics arguing it is politically motivated.

“Former FBI Director James Comey was charged Tuesday with threatening President Donald Trump's life when he posted an image of seashells spelling out "8647" on his Instagram account last year, a federal indictment showed”

CNBC

CNBC reported that Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dick Durbin said, “Just like the last baseless indictment against Mr. Comey, this is another case of a weaponized Justice Department lashing out on behalf of a vengeful President.”

CNBC

CNBC also quoted Jimmy Gurulé calling the indictment “an embarrassment to the American criminal justice system” and saying, “The damage to the credibility, integrity and reputation of the U.S. Department of Justice may be immeasurable.”

BBC quoted Gurulé saying the new indictment was “an embarrassment to the American criminal justice system” and that “The DOJ will not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that James Comey had the intent to threaten or harm President Trump,” adding that “The indictment is a transparent attempt to intimidate one of the President's perceived political enemies.”

On the other side, Blanche said at a press conference that “Threatening the life of the President of the United States is a grave violation of our nation's laws,” and he said the grand jury returned an indictment alleging James Comey did just that.

CNN quoted Blanche saying, “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 it said Blanche refused to elaborate on evidence of intent.

NBC News reported that two senior law enforcement officials said discussions were ongoing between the Justice Department and Comey’s attorneys and that the expectation was that Comey will turn himself in to federal authorities in North Carolina later this week.

BBC said Comey deleted the Instagram post and that US Secret Service agents interviewed Comey last May about the seashell photo.