WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Justice indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges that he threatened President Donald Trump's life through an Instagram post depicting seashells arranged to form the numbers "86 47." Comey faces two counts: one alleging he threatened to harm the president, and one for digitally transmitting the alleged threat.

The case stems from an Instagram post made last year that included the seashell image and the comment "Cool shell formation." The number "47" may refer to Trump, while "86" is a restaurant-industry slang term that can mean to eject or remove. Comey later deleted the post, saying he had come across the seashells while walking on the beach and thought they were a political message.

Comey appeared before a judge at a federal courthouse on Wednesday. After the indictment, he posted a social media video defending himself.

"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 wrote in a follow-up Instagram post.

The charges were months in the making and were unveiled after an armed man targeted Trump and cabinet members at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday. It was the third apparent attempt on Trump's life in two years. Trump was grazed by a bullet at a 2024 rally, and several weeks later an armed man staked out his Florida golf course while he played. Last fall, the Justice Department brought different charges against Comey, which a judge later dismissed.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the new charges. "It's serious when you threaten the president of the United States. Anybody that tries to put forward some narrative that this is just about seashells, or something to the contrary is missing the point. You cannot threaten the president of the United States," Blanche said. He said in a media appearance that the new charges against Comey were "absolutely, positively not" politically motivated.

To convict Comey, prosecutors must prove intent. Legal scholar Jonathan Turley argued that the case could fail because the post was protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "I would prefer to crawl into one of Comey's conversant shells than write a column supporting him," Turley wrote. "However, here we are. The fact is that I believe that this indictment is facially unconstitutional, absent some unknown new facts."