Outrage as Former FBI Boss Plans to Assassinate Trump
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Former FBI Director James Comey has been officially indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of issuing death threats against US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Citing a Russia Today report, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that if found guilty at trial, the former senior security official faces up to 10 years in prison.
The charges stem from an Instagram post in May 2025 showing a photo of seashells arranged on sand forming the numbers “86 47”. The DOJ stated that a reasonable recipient familiar with the context would interpret the post as a serious expression of intent to harm the President of the United States.
“A reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret James Comey’s post as a serious expression of intent to harm the President of the United States,” read the official statement from the US Department of Justice, as also reported by AFP on Wednesday (29/4/2026).
Critics argue that “86” is slang meaning to eliminate or kill someone, while “47” refers to Donald Trump as the current 47th President of the US. Comey’s post is seen as a veiled call to end the president’s life.
James Comey himself denied the charges at the time, claiming ignorance of the meaning of the numbers he posted. He promptly deleted the seashell photo post after it sparked a wave of public backlash.
“I was not aware that some people associate those numbers with violence,” Comey said in his defence before the formal indictment was issued.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasised that threatening the life of a national leader is a grave violation of the law and cannot be tolerated. Blanche highlighted that the United States has witnessed numerous incitements to violence followed by deadly actions targeting Trump and other elected officials.
“Threatening the life of the President of the United States is a grave violation of our nation’s laws. This country has witnessed incitements to violence followed by deadly actions against President Trump and other elected officials,” Blanche stated.
The indictment against Comey comes just days after a failed assassination attempt on Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, on Saturday. Trump also survived two assassination attempts during his 2024 re-election campaign, a situation that has intensified political tensions between Republicans and Democrats due to mutual accusations of inciting violence.
James Comey served as FBI Director from 2013 to 2017 under former President Barack Obama’s administration before being fired by Trump. Since then, he has frequently levelled sharp criticisms at Trump and even compared his former boss to a mafia boss in his memoir.