The Daily Fuckup

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned an indictment on April 28, 2026, charging former FBI Director James Comey over a May 15, 2025 Instagram post that showed seashells arranged as “86 47.” The Justice Department says the image amounted to a threat against President Donald Trump and alleges violations of 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The indictment says prosecutors will try to prove Comey knowingly and willfully made a threat and transmitted a threatening communication in interstate commerce. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey-threats-harm-president-trump?utm_source=openai))

The filing does not settle the case. It opens it. The Justice Department itself says an indictment is merely an accusation, and Comey remains presumed innocent unless a court or jury finds otherwise. That distinction matters here because the dispute is not only about what the post meant, but also about what the government can prove it meant under federal law. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey-threats-harm-president-trump?utm_source=openai))

The post drew attention because “86 47” has been read by critics and supporters in sharply different ways. In the indictment, prosecutors say a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret the image as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the president. Comey has publicly denied that he intended a threat and has said he viewed the post as a political message. Those dueling interpretations now belong to the courtroom, not social media. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey-threats-harm-president-trump?utm_source=openai))

The broader political fight is already attached to the case because the defendant is a former FBI director who has spent years in Trump’s crosshairs. But that background is context, not proof. What is provable today is narrower: a grand jury acted, prosecutors filed two charges, and the defense gets its turn to contest both the facts and the law. If the case becomes a test of the Justice Department’s credibility, that will be because the public is watching a high-profile prosecution built around a post that can be read two ways. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey-threats-harm-president-trump?utm_source=openai))