Former FBI director James Comey hit back at President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice on Tuesday after he was charged with threatening the life of the president.

Comey’s indictment surrounds his controversial social media post in which he arranged seashells to display the numbers “86 47,” a move the charging document deemed a threat to kill (“86”) the 47th president. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI director Kash Patel announced the indictment at a Tuesday press conference, where the FBI chief claimed the case surrounding the months-old post had been investigated for almost a year.

Comey fired back in a video message Tuesday, claiming the indictment, his second in less than a year, “won’t be the end of it.”

“Well, they’re back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach over a year ago, and this won’t be the end of it,” he said.

The former FBI director was defiant in his remarks, claiming he remained innocent while telling the Justice Department, “Let’s go.”

“But nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,” he said. “But it’s really important that all of us remember that this is not who we are as a country, this is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be.”

Comey struck a positive note in closing, urging viewers to “keep the faith” as the road towards change continued.

“And the good news is we get closer every day to restoring those values,” he said. “Keep the faith.”

The former FBI director was first indicted last September for making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. That case, brought by Trump’s handpicked prosecutor in northern Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, was eventually dismissed after a federal judge found that Halligan was not appointed legally.

Comey’s second indictment claimed he “knowingly and willfully” threatened Trump’s life with his seashell post. A court clerk issued an arrest warrant for the former FBI director along with the charges brought in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

“On or about May 15, 2025, in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the defendant, JAMES BRIEN COMEY JR, did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States, in that he publicly posted a photograph on the internet social media site Instagram which depicted seashells arranged in a pattern making out ’86 47′, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States,” the document reads.

Acting AG Blanche defended the indictment in his Tuesday remarks, brushing off questions about the line between speech and actual threats of violence.

“I don’t know what critics say that, especially today. But it’s not a very difficult line to look at, and it’s not in my mind a difficult line for one to crossover one way or another,” Blanche said. “You are not allowed to threaten the president of the United States of America. That’s not my decision — that’s Congress’ decision, in a statute that they passed, that we charge multiple times a year.”

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