James Comey surrenders to police after being accused of chilling 'threat' on Trump's life as he declares: 'I'm innocent'

By PHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 18:09, 29 April 2026 | Updated: 18:27, 29 April 2026 Ex-FBI boss James Comey has surrendered Wednesday to law enforcement as he faces charges for threatening Donald Trump's life in an Instagram post.  Comey surrendered Wednesday at a federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he was taken into custody ahead of his initial court appearance.  He faces two federal charges: threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.  Comey declared his innocence in a video message on Substack. 'I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let's go,' he said. Comey entered and exited the Alexandria courthouse through a side door reserved for criminal defendants, wearing a dark suit and remaining silent throughout the hearing. His indictment relates to an Instagram post Comey made last May featuring seashells arranged to spell out '8647', a phrase adopted by Trump's critics that the President and his allies have characterized as a call for his assassination. The number 86 is slang for removing or getting rid of something, though it can also mean to kill. Trump is the 47th President.  Comey posted the photo with the caption: 'Cool shell formation on my beach walk.' He later deleted the post within the same day and apologized.   Comey surrendered Wednesday at a federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia , where he was taken into custody ahead of his initial court appearance He faces two federal charges: threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.