Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted for threatening the life of Donald Trump, officials said on 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 “47” was a...