Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted, again, by the Trump Justice Department, this time over that bizarre seashell post he shared on social media last May.
The Post
The post featured a picture of seashells arranged to resemble the numbers “86 47.” In gang slang, “86” means to get rid of or kill someone; in restaurant slang, it refers to canceling an order or refusing someone service. “47,” of course, is a reference to President Trump, who is the forty-seventh president of the United States. Comey captioned the image: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
The post quickly drew condemnation from Trump supporters, with people like Donald Trump Jr. accusing the former head of the FBI of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered.”
Comey deleted the picture several hours later and uploaded a statement in its place in which he claimed to know nothing about the connotation of the numbers:
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
He then made several media appearances the following week – conveniently coinciding with a book tour – defending the post as a misunderstanding.
The Indictment
As reported on Wednesday’s AM Update, Acting Attorney general Todd Blanche announced the charges against Comey during a Tuesday briefing after a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned an indictment related to the offending social media post.
The indictment includes two counts. The first alleges Comey knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States when he made the May 15, 2025, Instagram post. The second count charges that Comey knowingly and willfully transmitted a communication in interstate commerce that contained a threat to kill the president. According to a DOJ press release, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted.
The acting AG pointed to a string of similar cases involving threats against public officials – stressing that while this indictment may draw attention because of the defendant’s name, the alleged conduct is not unique.
The grand jury also reportedly issued an arrest warrant, but Comey, who denies any wrongdoing, turned himself in to federal authorities Wednesday. The case has been assigned to Judge Louise W. Flanagan, a President George W. Bush appointee, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Round 2
This is not the Trump DOJ’s first attempt to prosecute Comey. In September, a Virginia grand jury indicted the former FBI director on one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction. The investigation into Comey centered around alleged lies he told to the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30, 2020, regarding the Trump-Russia FBI probe nicknamed “Crossfire Hurricane.”
That indictment was dismissed in November after a judge ruled then-acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan was improperly appointed. The DOJ is appealing the ruling.
On Wednesday, Comey posted a video to his Substack denying any wrongdoing and alluding to the prior charges against him. “Well, they’re back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina Beach a year ago,” he said. “This won’t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.”
“But it’s really important that all of us remember – this is not who we are as a country. This is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be,” he added. “And the good news is we get closer every day to restoring those values. Keep the faith.”
Megyn’s Take
Reaction is mixed over the strength of these latest charges against Comey. On Wednesday’s Megyn Kelly Show, Megyn noted that “some are saying it’s one of the weakest cases ever brought by the Department of Justice,” while “others say Comey is in some big trouble given the current threat environment against President Trump after yet another assassination attempt over the weekend.”
She said her personal opinion fell somewhere in between and will ultimately depend on what evidence the DOJ has uncovered. “Todd Blanche yesterday at the presser on this was saying that they did a bunch of discovery over the past year, they did a bunch of investigation over the past year, and they found a lot to support this case,” Megyn said. “What does he mean? I don’t know, but what if he found communication in Comey’s email, for example, expressing a desire to kill the president? That could change the look of this case considerably.”
So, while she said she thinks the case “looks rather weak on its face,” she said she was “open minded” to hearing what more there may be and recommended “keep[ing] your powder dry” until the scope becomes clearer.
“Comey is a… genuinely bad guy who I don’t think for a moment would shed one tear if Trump were murdered, so I do wonder what else they have,” Megyn wondered. “I hope it’s more than just the shells… because you actually are allowed to say, ‘Let’s get rid of this president.’ You’re even allowed to say, ‘I’d like to murder that guy.’ It’s not good, but an amorphous threat like that [is different than] a specific threat like, ‘I’m going to kill him.'”
While the post may seem like it falls more in what Megyn described as the “amorphous,” “blowing off steam” camp, there could very well be more to it. “This is going to be a case about where the line is drawn and whether there was actual intent behind that ’86 47′ seashell post,” Megyn explained. “Maybe [Blanche has] something in the Comey correspondence that suggests he actually formed the shells too. That would be interesting because he claimed he just happened to stumble upon them, which sounded like total bullshit. But we’ll see.”
A Troubling Trend
Regardless of the strength of the criminal case against Comey, there is no denying the media and leftists have been playing a dangerous game when it comes to the rhetoric used to discuss President Trump. On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Counterrevolution, to discuss the troubling trend and the high-threat environment it has created. Watch:
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Hanson by tuning in to episode 1,306 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.