Former FBI director James Comey has surrendered to authorities in Virginia after being charged with threatening President Donald Trump’s life with a social media post.
Comey, an outspoken critic of the US president who faced other federal charges that were subsequently thrown out, posted a photo to Instagram in May 2025 of seashells arranged in the shape of the numbers 86 and 47 on a beach in North Carolina.
Trump said this gesture was a coded threat.
Comey faces one count of “willfully making a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States” and another of making an interstate threat.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The former FBI director appeared for a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, where he did not enter a plea and was later allowed to leave.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to reporters, said he did not know when Comey’s next court appearance would be.
Blanche defended the indictment when asked if anyone who posted the numbers “8647” would face charges.
“Every threat case is different,” he said. “Every time there is a threat against the president, it doesn’t necessarily lead to an indictment.
“It depends on the investigation. It depends on all kinds of factors,” he said.