Ex-FBI director James Comey appears in court over Trump threat charge

Former FBI director James Comey surrendered to authorities in Virginia on Wednesday, after being charged with threatening President Donald Trump's life with a social media post, US media reported.

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.

Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.

CNN reported that Comey appeared for a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, where he did not enter a plea and was later allowed to leave.

The new indictment against Comey was announced Tuesday, with Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche saying that because of the seashell post Comey faced 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.

In September, the former FBI director was charged with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding in what was widely seen as retribution by the Republican president against a political opponent.

A federal judge threw out that case on the grounds the prosecutor handpicked by Trump who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.

Democrats are viewing this latest indictment in a similar light.

Senator Dick Durbin called the charges "baseless" and "petty retribution."

"This is another case of a weaponized Justice Department lashing out on behalf of a vengeful president," Durbin said in a statement.

Comey served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017. 

During his tenure, he oversaw the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server and the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, among other notable cases.

Comey lost his FBI job in a shock firing by Trump in May 2017.