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Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with threatening the life of US President Donald Trump, in a case linked to an image he briefly shared on social media.
The indictment stems from an investigation into a photograph of seashells arranged on a beach, which officials allege constituted a threat against Trump.
Comey, who led the FBI during the investigation into alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, has long been regarded as one of the former president’s political adversaries. The Trump administration has previously sought his prosecution.
Comey has maintained that he did not understand the meaning attributed to the numbers in the image. However, Trump and senior administration officials have argued that the post amounted to a threat against the 47th president.
Responding to the charges on Tuesday, Comey said: “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”
At a press briefing announcing the indictment, FBI Director Kash Patel said that as the agency’s former director, Comey “knew full well the attention and consequences of making such a post.”
“James Comey disgracefully encouraged a threat on President Trump’s life and posted it on Instagram for the world to see,” Patel said.
Comey was dismissed by Trump during his first term after initiating the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
Since then, Trump has repeatedly called for his prosecution, with Tuesday’s charges marking the administration’s second attempt.
“Well, they’re back. This time about a picture of sea shells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won’t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me,” Comey said in a statement.
Court documents show Comey faces charges of making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, each carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The charges were filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where the seashell image was reportedly taken.
“Threatening the life of the President of the United States is a grave violation of our nation’s laws,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “The grand jury returned an indictment alleging James Comey did just that.”
US Secret Service agents had previously interviewed Comey in May regarding the post.
Comey later deleted the Instagram image, stating that he “assumed [the seashells] were a political message.”
“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence,” he said. “It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Trump, who has long criticised Comey, said of the post that “a child knows what that meant.”
Some legal experts have questioned the strength of the case and raised concerns about the Justice Department’s approach to prosecuting political figures.
“It’s very thin,” said Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
He added that Comey’s post would likely be considered protected speech under the First Amendment.
Former federal prosecutor Jimmy Gurulé, now a law professor at Notre Dame, described the indictment as “an embarrassment to the American criminal justice system.”
“The DOJ will not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that James Comey had the intent to threaten or harm President Trump,” he said. “The indictment is a transparent attempt to intimidate one of the President’s perceived political enemies.”
