WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted for threatening the life of Donald Trump, officials said Tuesday, five months after a previous case against the outspoken critic of the US president was thrown out.

The indictment by a grand jury in North Carolina stems from an Instagram post the 65-year-old Comey made in May last year that showed the numbers "86 47" spelled out in seashells.

Trump alleged in an interview with Fox News at the time that "86" was slang for kill and the "47" was a reference to his being the 47th president.

"He knew exactly what that meant," Trump said. "That meant assassination."

The indictment alleges the "86 47" reference in the seashell pattern was a "serious expression of an in...