Former FBI Director James Comey Indicted by Federal Grand Jury on Two Threat Counts Over Seashell Photo Post
On April 28, 2026, a federal grand jury indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina charging former FBI Director James Brien Comey Jr. with two threat-related offenses, in case No. 4:26-cr-00016.
According to the indictment, on May 15, 2025, Comey publicly posted a photograph on Instagram depicting seashells arranged in a pattern reading "86 47." Prosecutors allege that a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret the post as a serious expression of intent to do harm to the President of the United States.
Count One charges Comey with threatening to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 871(a). Count Two charges him with transmitting in interstate and foreign commerce a communication containing a threat to kill President Donald J. Trump, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 875(c). The indictment also includes a forfeiture notice covering property constituting or derived from proceeds traceable to the charged offenses.
The indictment was submitted by the office of U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle for the Eastern District of North Carolina and signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Petracca. An indictment is an allegation; Comey is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：前联邦调查局局长 James Comey 官方肖像（资料照片）。美国联邦调查局，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official portrait of former FBI Director James Comey (file photo). Federal Bureau of Investigation, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
