James Comey Indicted Second Time Over Alleged Instagram Threat to 47th President

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted for a second time, with the US Department of Justice bringing new charges against him. Details of the specific charges remain undisclosed, though sources indicate they relate to an Instagram image shared by Comey last year. The image depicted seashells arranged to form the numbers '86 47'.

Comey has consistently stated he was unaware of the numbers' meaning, but Donald Trump and other administration officials have asserted the post constituted a threat against the 47th president. The term 'eighty-six' is commonly understood as slang for 'eject' or 'remove'.

This marks Comey's second indictment; the department initially charged him in September with lying to Congress regarding press leaks. However, a federal judge dismissed that case two months later, ruling that the interim federal prosecutor who initiated the charges was improperly appointed. The US Secret Service interviewed Comey in May concerning the seashell photograph. He subsequently deleted the post, explaining that he 'assumed [the sea shells] were a political message' but 'didn't realise some folks associate those numbers with violence.' Comey added that he opposes 'violence of any kind' and thus removed the image.