Overview
- Federal prosecutors say a North Carolina grand jury on Tuesday indicted James Comey on two counts tied to a 2025 Instagram photo of seashells arranged as “86 47.”
- The charges allege a threat against the president and the transmission of a threat across state lines, based on the post that Comey captioned “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
- An arrest warrant followed the unsealing of the indictment, and Comey surrendered in Virginia on Wednesday for a brief court appearance while stating he is innocent.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the case and said threats against the president would be prosecuted, as records show the Secret Service had already questioned Comey after the post.
- The indictment quotes a “reasonable recipient” standard, while legal experts point to the Supreme Court’s 2023 “true threat” rule requiring proof the speaker understood the message would be seen as threatening, and this follows a prior Comey case tossed last year over an unlawfully appointed prosecutor.