James Comey indicted for second time over '86 47' Instagram post
A federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday on two counts related to a May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells arranged to spell '86 47.' The Justice Department charged him with making threats against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, arguing a reasonable recipient would interpret the post as an intent to harm President Trump, the 47th president. Comey deleted the post after it drew attention and said he did not realize '86' could be interpreted as a call to violence.
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Divergence score
This event sits in the top 1% of divergence this week. 20 outlets covered it, splitting into 20 framing camps across 4 bias groups.
20 camps
4 bias groups
The spectrum · how 20 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
Reason
CNN
Al Jazeera
AP News
PBS NewsHour
Daily Wire
The Federalist
Washington Examiner
BBC
Breitbart
New York Times
ABC News
Axios
The Hill
NPR
Reuters
Politico
National Review
NY Post
HuffPost
Horizontal = outlet biasColor = this story's framing
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
The split, in one line
Outlets framing the case as political retaliation and weaponized justice dominate the left-leaning coverage, while right-leaning outlets emphasize a left-wing culture of assassination prep; legal-focused reporting centers on significant prosecutorial hurdles and the slippery slope the case creates.
How each outlet covered it
Two readings of the same facts
The left and the right lead with different language. The loaded words each chose are highlighted.
THE LEFT5 outlets · mostly critical
“Trump's DOJ Indicts Former FBI Director James Comey Over '86 47' Post”