WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted for a second time by the U.S. Department of Justice over an Instagram post showing seashells arranged to form the numbers "86 47." Justice Department attorneys sought the indictment in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey has a beach house.

Comey briefly shared the image on Instagram in May 2025 before deleting it. The Department of Homeland Security investigated Comey over the post, and U.S. Secret Service agents interviewed him last May about the photo. According to Merriam-Webster, the slang term "86" means "to throw out," "to get rid of," or "to refuse service to."

Comey said he assumed the seashells were a political message and insisted he did not know what the numbers meant. "I didn't realise some folks associate those numbers with violence," he said. "I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down."

President Donald Trump rejected that explanation. "A child knows what that meant," Trump said of the post. "If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear." Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Comey should be "put behind bars for this."

The new indictment follows an earlier prosecution that was dismissed. The Justice Department first brought charges against Comey in September, accusing him of lying to Congress over press leaks. A federal grand jury indicted him in late September on charges that he lied to Congress during testimony in September 2020 and obstructed a congressional proceeding. The indictment came days after Trump called on the country's top law enforcement official to investigate his political adversaries more aggressively, including Comey.

Comey pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance in October before the case was dismissed in November. U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the indictment because prosecutor Lindsey Halligan's appointment was invalid. Halligan is a former White House aide who had never prosecuted a case before. The judge left the door open for the government to try again. "I believe Trump will probably come after me again," Comey said after the November ruling.

Comey was fired by Trump during his first term after leading an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The White House referred inquiries to the Justice Department on the matter.