James Comey, the former FBI Director, has been indicted on two counts of threatening the life of President Donald Trump, following an Instagram post made on May 15, 2025. The post displayed seashells arranged to form the numbers '86 47', which federal prosecutors claim is a coded threat against Trump, the 47th President of the United States. The indictment was issued by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Comey, 65, has publicly denied the allegations, stating that he views the shells as a political message rather than a threat. During a press conference, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized that threats against the President will not be tolerated. This indictment follows a previous attempt to prosecute Comey for lying to Congress, which was dismissed in 2025. Legal experts have noted the challenges the Justice Department may face in proving intent in this case, while civil liberties organizations, such as the ACLU, have condemned the indictment as a misuse of power aimed at silencing political dissent. The case has been assigned to Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, a George W. Bush appointee, and is expected to be a significant point of contention regarding the perceived weaponization of the U.S. justice system.