James Comey indicted again, this time over seashell Instagram post

By Katherine Faulders, Peter Charalambous, Alexander Mallin

The new indictment centers on a controversy that erupted nearly a year ago when Comey, in a since-deleted Instagram post, shared a picture showing the numbers "86 47" written in seashells on the beach with the caption "Cool shell formation on my beach walk." 

Trump blasts former FBI Director James Comey over controversial Instagram post

Citing the slang meaning of "86" as to "nix" or "get rid" of something, allies of the president alleged that the post was a veiled threat against Trump, and the Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service quickly launched investigations into the posts.

Comey's attorneys did not have an immediate response to news of the indictment when reached by ABC News. 

When asked about the post last year, Trump suggested that Comey should be prosecuted over the post, which Trump alleged was a call "for the assassination of the president." 

"He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear," Trump told Fox News last year. 

At the time, Trump said he would leave a decision about charging Comey to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, though he insisted that Comey was a "dirty cop." 

"When you add his history to that ... he's a dirty cop. And if he had a clean history, I could understand if there was a leniency, but I'm going to let them make that decision," Trump said. 

Following backlash over the post, Comey removed the photo from Instagram and said he was unaware that the post could be associated with violence. 

"I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today 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," Comey said on May 15. 

The post drew swift criticism from the Trump administration, with White House staff describing the post "deeply concerning" and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard calling for Comey to be imprisoned. 

"James Comey in my view should be held accountable and put behind bars for this," Gabbard told Fox News. 

Comey is not the first public figure to face pushback for invoking number "86," with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drawing criticism in 2020 for appearing during a television interview with a small figurine of the numbers "86 45" on a table behind her, and similar "86 46" references appearing online during Joe Biden's presidency.

Comey was indicted last year on unrelated charges for allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction related to his testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020. Comey's lawyers moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing the case was politically motivated and that the grand jury never saw the charges in their entirety, and the case was ultimately dismissed over issues with the legitimacy of the prosecutor who brought the case.