Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey has surrendered to police in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday.
Comey was indicted on charges related to threatening the life of the president after he posted a message on social media many believed to be calling for political violence. CNN reported that he would be “placed under arrest ahead of his first appearance in court.”
‘A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant? That meant assassination.’
He briefly appeared in the federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia for a hearing but entered no plea.
“I don’t see why they’d be necessary this time,” said Judge William Fitzpatrick.
In May 2025, Comey posted an image on his social media account of a seashell formation he said he found at the beach.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” he wrote in the post.
However, many immediately took the message spelled out by the seashells, “8647,” as a veiled reference calling for violence against President Donald Trump. The phrase “86” in slang commonly refers to getting rid of something, and the number “47” is assumed to be a reference to Trump, who is the 47th president of the United States.
After seeing the furor, Comey deleted the post and tried to explain it away.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” he wrote. “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.”
On Tuesday, he was charged for making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
RELATED: James Comey subpoenaed in ‘grand conspiracy’ against Trump: Report
“He knew exactly what that meant,” said Trump about the seashell post. “A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant? That meant assassination.”
Comey had also been previously indicted by a grand jury for allegedly abusing his office out of political motivation. Those charges were dismissed by a judge, who found that the administration had improperly filled the office of interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
James comey indicted, James comey arrested, Charges against comey, Comey 8647 threat, Politics
