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Contemporary FBI Director James Comey made his first court look Wednesday after his indictment a day earlier for allegedly making threats against President Trump.

He did no longer enter a plea on Wednesday. Federal Magistrate Mediate William E. Fitzpatrick learn the costs against Comey and denied the Justice Department’s makes an are trying to issue stipulations of liberate. 

“I don’t think conditions on release are necessary in this case,” Fitzpatrick mentioned, adding that “they weren’t necessary last time” Comey used to be indicted. 

Comey, in a blue breeze smartly with and gentle blue costume shirt, used to be represented by Patrick Fitzgerald and Jessica Carmichael. He nodded as he used to be learn his rights and smiled abet at his household as he left the courtroom.

Comey has been charged with two counts: knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the lifestyles of — and to inflict bodily harm on — the president, and second, knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to kill the president. 

The charges stem from an describe he temporarily shared to Instagram closing 365 days showing seashells arranged within the sand to comprise the numbers “86 47.” The indictment states that a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances” would interpret the depiction of the shells within the photograph “as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to President Trump.”

Comey, a frequent Trump critic, soon removed the submit after outraged Trump supporters interpreted the numbers as a threat against Mr. Trump, the forty seventh president. He mentioned in an Instagram submit that he believed the shell formation used to be speaking a “political message.” 

“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey wrote. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

In a video posted on Substack after the indictment, Comey mentioned, “”I’m serene innocent, I’m serene no longer stricken, and I serene imagine within the unprejudiced federal judiciary. So, let’s breeze.”

In a submit to Truth Social late Wednesday evening, President Trump wrote, “’86’ is a mob time-frame for ‘kill him.’ They enlighten 86 him! 86 47 strategy ‘kill President Trump.’ James Comey, who is a Soiled Cop, one in every of the worst, knows this fleshy smartly! EIGHT MILES OUT, SIX FEET DOWN! Didn’t he also mislead the FBI about this??? I comprise so!”

Comey’s attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said his legal team intend to file motions to dismiss on the grounds of selective and vindictive prosecutions imminently and asked a judge to order the preservation of records from the government, given the Justice Department’s recent opinion that the Presidential Records Act does no longer note to the Trump administration.

Comey used to be beforehand indicted by a federal astronomical jury in September 2025 for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. If so, his splendid team offered arguments on selective and vindictive prosecutions, nevertheless the mediate by no strategy needed to rule on that scenario for the reason that case used to be brushed off on grounds that the U.S. felony legitimate who had introduced the case used to be illegally appointed. The distinctive case is being appealed by the Justice Department. 

CBS Data splendid contributor Jessica Levinson advised CBS Data that the costs within the second indictment are abnormal in that they stem from a symbolic message: “They’re based on seashells.” She indicated the Justice Department would face a high bar in prosecuting the case, noting that the splendid scenario is whether or no longer there could be a First Amendment protection within the case.

“There’s a robust First Amendment defense if you can’t show that either the speech, or the symbolic speech or the expression satisfies that intent requirement.” The Justice Department will want to indicate that Comey supposed to threaten the president’s lifestyles or that he supposed to transmit a message with that threat in his social media submit. 

In 2023, the Supreme Court docket mentioned that for a real threat to be notion to be speech that’s unprotected underneath the First Amendment, the government must showcase that the speaker “consciously disregards a significant risk that their words might harm another.” Comey mentioned at the time of his Instagram submit that he did now not understand the numbers would be linked with violence after which removed the submit.