Khaberni - The US judiciary has accused the former FBI Director James Comey of threatening the life of US President Donald Trump, as announced by officials on Tuesday, 5 months after a previous case against him was dropped.
Todd Blanch, the Acting Attorney General, said Comey faces a charge related to "deliberately threatening to kill the President of the United States and cause him physical harm," and another charge related to an interstate threat. The penalty for each charge can be up to 10 years in prison.
He added, "I believe it is fair to say that threatening anyone’s life is a serious matter and can be considered a crime. The Department of Justice will never tolerate threats to the life of the President of the United States."
The Case Details
The indictment decision issued by a grand jury in North Carolina is based on a post on Comey's Instagram in May of last year, which Trump said included numbers signifying murder.
The indictment issued by the US judiciary states that Comey's post included the numbers "47" and "86," while Trump said that "86" was slang for murder and "47" was a reference to him being the 47th president.
The indictment noted that this post was "a serious expression of intent to harm the President of the United States."
At that time, Comey apologized for his post and deleted it, noting that he "did not realize that some people associate those numbers with violence."
This comes three days after an armed man was arrested for attempting to assassinate Trump during a dinner in Washington hosted by the White House Correspondents' Association.
False Accusation
Comey maintained his innocence against the charges directed at him, saying, "I remain innocent, I remain unafraid, and I still believe in the independence of the federal judiciary."
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin condemned the accusation against Comey, saying that it is "baseless," adding, "This is yet another case of the Justice Department being used as a weapon for revenge on behalf of a vengeful president."
In September 2025, Comey was accused of providing false testimonies before Congress in what was widely regarded as a vengeful campaign launched by President Trump against his political rivals.
However, a federal judge dismissed the criminal lawsuit against Comey in November of the same year.
Comey was appointed director of the FBI in 2013 under former President Barack Obama, and was fired by Trump in 2017.
