Federal prosecutors have secured an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey for an Instagram post featuring seashells, according to two sources familiar with the case. The grand jury action marks an extraordinary escalation in the legal battles between the Trump administration and one of its most prominent antagonists.
The photograph at the center of the case was posted to Comey's Instagram account in May 2025 from a North Carolina beach where he owns property. The indictment was sought by Justice Department attorneys in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where the grand jury approved charges.
Trump administration officials seized on the post almost immediately, with allies interpreting the image as a veiled threat. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Secret Service agents had questioned Comey over the matter, referring to him as the "disgraced" former FBI director. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called for him to be "put behind bars."
Comey deleted the post and subsequently explained his intent in a follow-up Instagram message. He said he had spotted the shells during a beach walk and assumed they carried a political message. He stated he was unaware some people associated the numbers with violence and emphasized his opposition to all violent acts.
The caption on Comey's original post included the number sequence "86," a restaurant industry term for an item being sold out that also carries informal meanings like "cancel" or "get rid of." Comey's deletion and explanation suggest he did not intend the post as a threat.
The Department of Homeland Security opened an investigation into the matter, advancing the case to the Secret Service for questioning. The White House deferred all inquiries to the Justice Department.
This marks the second time Comey has faced indictment under the Trump administration. In September, prosecutors charged him with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation, centered on his 2020 testimony to Congress. Comey had stated he stood by earlier testimony that he had not authorized any third party to speak to media about an FBI investigation.
That earlier indictment was dismissed after a federal judge ruled the prosecutor who signed it, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. The same judicial concerns that led to dismissal of Comey's first indictment also resulted in the dismissal of charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom Trump had also publicly urged his administration to prosecute.
Securing an indictment requires prosecutors to meet only a probable cause standard before a grand jury, a far lower threshold than the beyond-reasonable-doubt standard juries must apply at trial.
Comey's contentious relationship with Trump dates to 2017, when the president fired him as FBI director just months into his first term. The firing prompted the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, an inquiry that frequently drew Trump's criticism.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Using a seashell photo as the basis for a federal indictment represents a stunning weaponization of the prosecutorial system, regardless of one's views on Comey himself."
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