Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with threatening the life of the president and making a threat in interstate commerce, according to an indictment that has been filed against him.
The case relates to a social media post Mr Comey made last year that allies of Mr Trump interpreted as threatening.
The post, which was published on Mr Comey's Instagram page in May 2025, showed an image of seashells arranged to show the numbers "86 47".
In US parlance the number 86 can be used as verb meaning to throw somebody out of a bar for being drunk or disorderly, and 47 is code for Trump, the 47th president.
US officials investigated Mr Comey in the days following the post, which Mr Comey later deleted.
The indictment states that a "reasonable person" would interpret the social media post as intent to do harm to Mr Trump.
Mr Comey at the time said he assumed the post was 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," Mr Comey said.
The indictment marks the second time the Justice Department under Mr Trump has indicted Mr Comey, a longtime foe of President Donald Trump.
Mr Comey was charged with making a false statement and obstructing Congress in September, but a federal judge dismissed the case after finding that the prosecutor who secured the indictment was not lawfully appointed.
The Justice Department has been under pressure to bring criminal charges against Trump's perceived political enemies, particularly after Mr Trump fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has moved quickly to execute Mr Trump's demands for the Justice Department, including indicting a prominent civil rights group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, last week.
