Former FBI Director James Comey surrendered to federal law enforcement Wednesday morning at the Eastern District of Virginia courthouse in Alexandria, where he was briefly taken into custody before appearing before Judge William E. Fitzpatrick for a hearing lasting less than ten minutes.
Comey faces two federal charges: making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The indictment centers on a social media post from May of last year in which Comey shared a photograph of shells arranged on a beach to spell the numbers “86 47,” captioning the image “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Republicans and Trump administration officials interpreted the post as an encoded death threat against President Donald Trump, the nation’s 47th commander-in-chief. The number 86, used colloquially as slang, can denote removal or elimination. Conservative critics argued that Comey’s beach photograph constituted a veiled call for the president’s assassination.
Comey has maintained his innocence. In a video message posted to Substack Tuesday—hours before his surrender—the former law enforcement official declared himself “still innocent” of the charges.
Judge Fitzpatrick permitted Comey to depart the courthouse without conditions or restrictions on his release. The former FBI director entered and exited through a side entrance reserved for defendants, wearing a dark suit and remaining silent throughout the proceeding. No plea was entered Wednesday. No date has yet been set for his arraignment or first appearance before the North Carolina court.
The indictment marks the second time Trump’s Justice Department has pursued criminal charges against Comey. In September of the previous year, prosecutors charged him with lying to Congress regarding leaks to the press. That case was dismissed in late 2025 when a federal judge found that the interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had been improperly appointed, having circumvented required Senate confirmation.
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