The Justice Department has indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a second time in recent months, according to multiple reports published Tuesday. The new charges stem from a photograph Comey posted to Instagram showing a seashell formation he described as having arranged itself into the number "8647."
The '8647' Post
The Instagram photograph in question shows a seashell arrangement Comey described as a naturally occurring pattern. Critics — and, subsequently, federal investigators — read the numbers differently: "86" is widely understood as slang for eliminating or killing someone; "47" references President Donald Trump, the 47th president of the United States.
Together, in that reading, the post was interpreted as a veiled call for violence against a sitting president.
The image was widely circulated in conservative media when it was first published. Several commentators and political figures publicly characterized it as an incitement. Comey did not address the interpretation at the time.
Background: Comey's Post-FBI Career
Comey served as FBI Director from 2013 until May 2017, when President Trump dismissed him. Following his dismissal, Comey authored a memoir — A Higher Loyalty — became a prominent public critic of Trump, and maintained an active social media presence. A 2019 Inspector General review concluded Comey had violated FBI policies in his handling of personal memos related to conversations with Trump, though the Justice Department declined prosecution at that time.
Under the Trump administration's second term, the DOJ has moved aggressively against officials it characterizes as having weaponized federal law enforcement during the Biden era. A separate first indictment of Comey was reported in earlier months. President Trump had previously pressured former Attorney General Pam Bondi to move quickly against Comey.
Parallel DOJ Activity
Tuesday's indictment came on the same day the DOJ indicted Dr. David Morens — a former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci — on charges that he deliberately concealed records related to the origins of COVID-19. According to the indictment, Morens and co-conspirators allegedly falsified records in an effort to suppress inquiry into alternative theories about how the virus originated.
The parallel prosecutions represent the most aggressive use of the Justice Department against former senior federal officials in the current administration.
Legal and Political Context
The indictment comes three days after a man identified as Cole Tomas Allen charged a Secret Service security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner — the tenth known attack on Trump since 2016, according to multiple outlets. Federal prosecutors are expected to face a high bar; courts have generally required specific evidence of intent to sustain charges involving ambiguous symbolic expression. Defense attorneys are likely to argue the post is protected political speech.
Prosecutors will likely argue that Comey — as a former law enforcement official — cannot plausibly claim ignorance of how the numerically arranged photograph would be received, given the immediate public reaction it generated when first posted.
What Comes Next
The court, specific statutes charged, and arraignment timeline had not been confirmed publicly as of Tuesday afternoon. The Government Accountability Office also announced Tuesday that it has agreed to open a separate investigation into the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files.
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.
