Left: President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One at Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field in Norfolk, Va., Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). Right: Former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey laughs while addressing a gathering at Harvard University”s Institute of Politics’ JFK Jr. Forum in Cambridge, Mass., Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa).
President Donald Trump may follow a clear “do as I say, not as I do” formula, at least when it comes to posting on social media, and particularly when it involves former FBI director James Comey.
Comey faces his second federal indictment, months after his first was dismissed in November 2025. The current indictment, issued on April 28, 2026, focuses on Comey’s alleged threats made via social media against the president.
The threat in question involves a May 2025 Instagram post spelling out “86 47” in seashells in the sand, which prosecutors alleged is “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.”
Comey’s legal team indicated they would file a motion to dismiss based on claims of vindictive and selective prosecution.
As is a common occurrence with Trump DOJ cases against his perceived enemies, the president’s own words often end up as Exhibit A.
In a Truth Social post from Trump in September 2025, he directly addressed his then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after Comey, saying in part, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
The court may also issue a swift dismissal, finding that Comey’s post of shells forming numbers in the sand was nothing more than free speech by way of political hyperbole, something the president himself is a fan of.
The extension of freedom of speech and interpretation
Prosecutors must prove that Comey, via his image of seashells and the numbers they spell out, was a direct violent threat to the president. However, the slang term “86” is commonly used in the hospitality business to remove an item from the menu or decline someone’s service. The courts will have to distinguish jest, idle talk, and political hyperbole from literal threats to kill.
If Comey was found guilty, this same application may apply to any number of Trump’s Truth Social postings, including one in which he holds a gun with explosives going off in the background in a post about the conflict in Iran. Or stating, “We’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!” after feeling betrayed by Senate Majority Leader Rod Bray in a January post.
A prosecutor could argue that “we’re after you” holds the same threatening tone as the number “86.”
In fact, an executive order Trump issued during his first term as president — titled “Restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship” — issued in reaction to his ban from Twitter and Meta, may end up being the proverbial smoking gun.
Comey’s attorneys may want to look at section one of Trump’s order in particular: “The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, an amendment essential to the success of our Republic, enshrines the right of the American people to speak freely in the public square without Government interference.”
