The Justice Department on Tuesday secured an indictment against James Comey in connection with a photo he posted on social media showing seashells arranged in a pattern that prosecutors said could be interpreted as a threat to kill President Trump. The case is the Trump administration’s second attempt to prosecute Comey, the former director of the FBI and a prominent Trump critic. He was charged in September with lying to Congress, but a judge dismissed that case. The latest indictment charges Comey with making a threat against Trump and transmitting an interstate communication threatening to kill him. It centers on a May 2025 Instagram post in which Comey wrote, “cool shell formation on my beach walk,” under a photo of seashells arranged in the numbers “86 47.” Trump officials at the time said it was a threat to encourage killing Trump, as “86” is old-time slang for “get rid of,” and Trump is the 47th president. Comey said at the time of the post that it didn’t occur to him that it would be read as a threat, and that he opposed such violence. He apologized and took the post down. The Secret Service questioned Comey about it in May 2025 #wsj