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Former FBI Director James Comey Indicted Over '8647' Post As Experts Cite First Amendment Hurdles
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted again on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, by the Justice Department in the Eastern District of North Carolina over a social-media image prosecutors say threatened President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors tied the new charging document to a May 2025 Instagram photo of seashells arranged as "8647," which officials interpret as a coded call against the then-47th president. The post, deleted soon after, prompted a Secret Service interview and public accusations that the image amounted to an assassination threat (PBS News).
The episode traces back to a separate federal indictment filed last year that accused Comey of lying to and obstructing Congress; that earlier case was dismissed after a judge found the prosecutor's appointment unlawful. Comey had pleaded not guilty in October 2025 to the initial charges, and prosecutors refiled in light of the dismissal (Wall Street Journal; NPR).
Coverage of the case has shifted as more legal analysis has emerged. Early reports presented the indictment principally as an allegation of a direct threat, but later pieces stressed steep First Amendment obstacles if prosecutors rest their case solely on the shell image. Legal experts say the government will need context beyond the photo to prove a true threat, while other commentators argue threats to a president are unprotected speech.
Court filings now name statutes prosecutors say they relied on, including 18 U.S.C. § 871 and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), but reporting still differs on how publicly detailed the charges are. NPR noted the exact counts were not yet fully public as of Tuesday, and the case is likely to test how courts balance threat statutes against free-speech protections.
Show source details & analysis (6 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Trump Justice Department brought a second indictment against former FBI Director James Comey after an earlier case was dismissed on grounds that the prosecutor’s appointment was ruled unlawful.
- The new indictment centers on a May 2025 social-media image of seashells arranged as ‘8647’, which investigators interpret as a coded reference with '86' meaning to "get rid of" (and sometimes to kill) and '47' referring to Donald Trump as the 47th U.S. president.
- Prosecutors in the Eastern District of North Carolina charged Comey on April 28, 2026 under 18 U.S.C. § 871 (threats against the president) and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) (interstate communications containing threats), tying the allegations to the May 2025 seashell post.
- Comey deleted the post shortly after sharing it and wrote that he "didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence," adding that he opposes violence of any kind, according to the reporting by the Associated Press via PBS News.
- This indictment is the Justice Department’s second attempt to prosecute Comey in recent months, following an earlier September/October 2025 indictment alleging false statements and obstruction that a judge later dismissed because the acting prosecutor who obtained it was unlawfully appointed, as reported by NPR.
- Prosecutors say they will argue a "reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances" would view the seashell image as a serious expression of intent to harm the president, but legal scholars warn the case faces significant First Amendment challenges, with Jonathan Turley calling an image-only theory a "monumental challenge" and describing the image as "clearly protected speech" absent additional facts.
- The U.S. attorney overseeing the case is W. Ellis Boyle, who was appointed in 2025 and was sworn in by his father, a longtime federal judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
April 28, 2026
9:19 PM
Legal experts warn Comey ‘86 47’ indictment faces First Amendment hurdles
New information:
- On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, prosecutors in the Eastern District of North Carolina charged James Comey under 18 U.S.C. § 871 (threats against the president) and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) (interstate communications containing threats).
- The indictment is explicitly tied to Comey’s May 2025 social media image of seashells arranged as '8647,' allegedly posted while he was in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
- Prosecutors state they will argue that a 'reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances' would interpret the post as a serious expression of intent to harm President Donald Trump, signaling reliance on surrounding context rather than explicit wording.
- George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital that, if the case is based solely on the shell image, it would face a 'monumental challenge' under the First Amendment and that the image itself is 'clearly protected speech' absent additional facts.
- Conservative legal advocate Mike Davis argued that threats against a sitting president fall outside First Amendment protection and cited the 'third assassination attempt against President Trump on Saturday' as reinforcing the need for prosecution.
- The article identifies W. Ellis Boyle as the U.S. attorney overseeing the case, noting he was appointed in 2025 and sworn in by his father, a longtime federal judge in the same district.
7:31 PM
Justice Department indicts former FBI director James Comey for a second time
New information:
- On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, NPR reported that a grand jury has handed up a new indictment against James Comey and that the Justice Department has secured the indictment, citing a source familiar with the matter.
- The NPR report states that the exact criminal charge or charges in the new indictment are not yet publicly known.
- The article reiterates that the case revolves around Comey's prior seashell photo post arranged as '8647' on social media and notes continuing dispute over whether the image was a violent threat or a political message.
- NPR recaps that a federal judge in November dismissed an earlier DOJ attempt to indict Comey for alleged false statements and obstruction tied to 2020 Senate testimony, after ruling the acting U.S. attorney who obtained those indictments was unlawfully appointed, and that those earlier cases were dismissed without prejudice.
6:57 PM
James Comey indicted in probe over online post officials say constituted Trump threat
New information:
- On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Associated Press confirmed that James Comey was indicted again, this time over a May 2025 Instagram photo of seashells arranged as '86 47' that officials say constituted a threat against President Donald Trump.
- The AP article recounts that Comey deleted the post shortly after sharing it, writing that he "didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence" and adding, "I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down."
- Secret Service agents interviewed Comey soon after the post, after Trump administration officials asserted that he was advocating the assassination of Trump, whom they describe as the 47th president.
- Merriam-Webster is cited to explain that '86' is slang meaning 'to throw out,' 'to get rid of,' or 'to refuse service to,' and notes the killing sense is recent and sparsely used and is not entered in that dictionary.
- The article quotes Trump telling Fox News in May 2025 that Comey "knew exactly what that meant" and that "If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination."
- The piece notes this is the Justice Department's second case against Comey in months, following a September 2025 indictment over alleged lies and obstruction to Congress that was later dismissed after a judge ruled the prosecutor's appointment unlawful.
6:27 PM
Justice Department Secures a New Indictment Against James Comey
New information:
- The Wall Street Journal reports on April 28, 2026, that James Comey has been charged in connection with a social-media photo showing seashells arranged in a pattern officials alleged was a call for President Trump's assassination.
- The WSJ recounts that Comey was previously charged in September with lying to Congress, but that case was dismissed by a judge, and describes the new case as the Justice Department's second attempt to prosecute him.
- The article characterizes the seashell post as being interpreted by officials as an assassination call, aligning with but independently confirming the "coded threat" theory reported elsewhere.
6:26 PM
Trump DOJ brings charges against James Comey a second time
New information:
- On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Trump Justice Department brought a second indictment against former FBI Director James Comey after his first case was dismissed because the prosecutor’s appointment was ruled illegal.
- A source familiar with the matter told MS NOW that the new indictment centers on a May 2025 social media post in which Comey allegedly threatened President Donald Trump.
- The post reportedly showed shells on a beach spelling out '8647,' which investigators interpret as a coded reference to '86' meaning to 'get rid of' or 'to kill' and '47' referring to Trump as the 47th U.S. president.
- The article reiterates that Comey had previously pleaded not guilty in October 2025 to an earlier indictment accusing him of lying to and obstructing Congress about whether he authorized FBI personnel to act as anonymous sources in 2020 Senate testimony; that earlier case was dismissed on appointment grounds.