Former FBI Director James Comey turned himself in to federal authorities on Wednesday at a Virginia courthouse to face charges of threatening the life of President Donald Trump.
Comey’s appearance was swift and procedural, lasting only seven minutes. This is the second time the former FBI director has been indicted — the first case, which was dismissed by a judge in September 2025, alleged that he lied to and obstructed Congress. Trump, who has called him a “dirty cop” and often clashed with him, has made it clear he would like to see Comey prosecuted.
In this case, the Justice Department charged Comey with threatening Trump’s life because of a May 2025 Instagram post in which he shared a photo of seashells on a North Carolina beach arranged in a pattern reading “86 47.” The government says “86” is common slang for “kill.” (It can also mean “reject” or “get rid of.”) Comey later deleted the post, which he said he found while walking along the beach and did not make, and said he doesn’t condone violence of any kind.
Asked by reporters on Wednesday afternoon whether he felt Comey had endangered his life, Trump said, “Probably, I don’t know.”
“You know, based on what I’m seeing out there, yeah,” Trump said.
Trump called 86 a “mob term for ‘kill him.’”
“You ever seen the movies? ‘Eighty-six,’ the mobster says to one of his wonderful associates, ‘86 him.’ That means kill him. … I think of it as a mob term.”
“You ever seen the movies? ‘Eighty-six,’ the mobster says to one of his wonderful associates, ‘86 him.’ That means kill him. … I think of it as a mob term.”
President Donald Trump
Comey’s arraignment will come in North Carolina, where the ex-FBI director was charged, though no date for that proceeding has been set. During the proceedings, Comey, whose wife and son-in-law attended, did not speak. He has yet to enter a plea.
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But his lawyers, Patrick Fitzgerald and Jessica Carmichael — who represented him in the previous cased filed by the government — said he understood the charges. They include threatening Trump and “interstate transmission” of a threat against the president, and each carries a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
At the end of the hearing, Fitzgerald signaled that at least part of the defense strategy is to again seek a dismissal of this case. The attorney said he would seek such a dismissal on the grounds of vindictive prosecution because Trump has made it clear he wants to punish Comey.
The same judge who presided over — and threw out — the government’s first case against Comey also oversaw the court appearance on Wednesday.
Federal Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said it wasn’t necessary to set conditions for Comey’s release because “they weren’t necessary last time and I don’t see why they should be this time.”
Comey was charged previously with lying to and obstructing Congress during a 2020 hearing before the Senate. But the judge tossed that case because, she said, the interim U.S. attorney who filed it, Lindsay Halligan, was illegally appointed.
Fallon Gallagher is a legal affairs reporter for MS NOW.