Comey appears in court after his indictment for allegedly threatening Trump

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Former FBI Director James Comey made his archetypal tribunal quality Wednesday aft his indictment a time earlier for allegedly making threats against President Trump.

He did not participate a plea connected Wednesday. Federal Magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick work the charges against Comey and denied the Justice Department's attempts to acceptable conditions of release.

"I don't deliberation conditions connected merchandise are indispensable successful this case," Fitzpatrick said, adding that "they weren't indispensable past time" Comey was indicted.

Comey, successful a bluish suit and airy bluish formal shirt, was represented by Patrick Fitzgerald and Jessica Carmichael. He nodded arsenic helium was work his rights and smiled backmost astatine his household arsenic helium near the courtroom.

Comey has been charged with 2 counts: knowingly and willfully making a menace to instrumentality the beingness of — and to inflict bodily harm connected — the president, and second, knowingly and willfully transmitting successful interstate commerce a menace to termination the president.

The charges stem from an representation helium concisely shared to Instagram past twelvemonth showing seashells arranged successful the soil to signifier the numbers "86 47." The indictment states that a "reasonable recipient who is acquainted with the circumstances" would construe the depiction of the shells successful the photograph "as a superior look of an intent to bash harm to President Trump."

Comey, a predominant Trump critic, soon removed the station aft outraged Trump supporters interpreted the numbers arsenic a menace against Mr. Trump, the 47th president. He said successful an Instagram post that helium believed the ammunition enactment was communicating a "political message."

"I didn't recognize immoderate folks subordinate those numbers with violence," Comey wrote. "It ne'er occurred to maine but I reason unit of immoderate benignant truthful I took the station down."

In a video posted connected Substack aft the indictment, Comey said, ""I'm inactive innocent, I'm inactive not afraid, and I inactive judge successful the autarkic national judiciary. So, let's go."

CBS News ineligible contributor Jessica Levinson told CBS News that the charges are antithetic successful that they're based connected a symbolic message: "They're based connected seashells." She indicated the Justice Department would look a precocious barroom successful prosecuting the case, noting that the biggest contented is whether there's a First Amendment defence successful the case.

"There's a robust First Amendment defence if you can't amusement that either the speech, oregon the symbolic code oregon the look satisfies that intent requirement." The Justice Department volition person to beryllium that Comey intended to endanger the president's beingness oregon that helium intended to transmit a connection with that menace successful his societal media post.

In 2023, the Supreme Court said that for a existent menace to beryllium considered code that is unprotected nether the First Amendment, the authorities indispensable amusement that the talker "consciously disregards a important hazard that their words mightiness harm another." Comey said astatine the clip of his Instagram station that helium didn't recognize the numbers could beryllium associated with unit and past removed the post.

Comey was antecedently indicted by a national expansive assemblage successful September 2025 for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a legislature proceeding. But a national justice threw out the lawsuit due to the fact that helium determined the prosecutor, Lindsay Halligan, was illegally appointed.

Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.

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