Former FBI director appears in court for second indictment

Chris Strohm and Jimmy Jenkins, Bloomberg News on Apr 29, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director James Comey made his initial court appearance Wednesday in response to federal criminal charges for allegedly threatening President Donald Trump’s life in a social media post.

Comey appeared in federal court in Virginia in response to a grand jury indictment obtained by the Justice Department, according to his lawyer. He was released as the government didn’t seek he be detained. A hearing date for him to enter a plea hasn’t been set yet.

The indictment marks the second attempt by the Justice Department to bring charges against Comey, who Trump has long identified as one of his chief political enemies and repeatedly demanded be prosecuted. The animosity dates back to Trump’s first term, when he fired Comey as FBI director while he was investigating foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election.

A federal grand jury in North Carolina returned an indictment on Tuesday with two counts accusing Comey of threatening the president and of transmitting a threat through interstate commerce. The prosecution centers on a photo last May that Comey posted online, in which the numbers 86 and 47 had been formed by seashells. Critics said that could have been a reference to killing Trump, the 47th president.

Comey deleted the post at the time and said that was not his intent. Both counts are felony offenses carrying sentences of up to five years in prison.

The Justice Department’s first indictment against Comey last year failed after a federal judge tossed charges against the former FBI director for allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction related to testimony he gave in 2020. The judge concluded the interim U.S. attorney in Virginia who obtained the indictment, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed. The same judge also dismissed a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James on the same grounds.

The government is in the midst of appealing those rulings before the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

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