A demonstrator holds up an "8647" sign at a "No Kings" protest in Louisville, Ky., in June 2025. It's an anti-Trump slogan, with multiple interpretations. Jon Cherry/AP hide caption

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Jon Cherry/AP

Former FBI Director James Comey was charged this week over a year-old social media post of a seashell formation that the Justice Department alleges constituted a threat to President Trump's life.

A grand jury returned an indictment on Tuesday saying that Comey "did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States" when he posted a picture of seashells in the sand on a North Carolina beach in May 2025.

The seashells were arranged — it's not clear by whom — to form the numbers "8647." Eighty-six is a slang term widely interpreted as meaning "get rid of," while Trump is the 47th (and 45th) president.

"I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let's go," Comey…