The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department said a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted former FBI Director James Comey on April 28, 2026, on two counts tied to an Instagram post he made on May 15, 2025. Prosecutors allege Comey knowingly and willfully made a threat against President Donald Trump and transmitted a threatening communication in interstate commerce after posting an image of seashells arranged as “86 47.” The department said an indictment is only an accusation and that Comey is presumed innocent. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey-threats-harm-president-trump))

The case centers on what the post meant and whether it crossed a criminal line. DOJ says a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret the image as a serious expression of intent to do harm to the president. Comey has denied the charges, and his lawyer has said the post was not a threat. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey-threats-harm-president-trump))

The indictment lands against a long political backdrop, but the charging document itself does not settle motive. Comey has been a persistent Trump target since his time as FBI director, and the new case gives the former president and his allies another high-profile fight with a familiar adversary. Whether the prosecution is strong or weak will be decided in court; for now, the record shows only that a grand jury returned an indictment and the government says it will try to prove its allegations. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey-threats-harm-president-trump))