Overview
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who spoke Sunday on national TV, said prosecutors presented an 11‑month body of evidence to a North Carolina grand jury that returned the indictment last week.
- The charges center on a May 2025 Instagram photo of seashells arranged as “86 47,” which the indictment says a reasonable person familiar with the context would read as a serious threat to the president.
- Blanche said he cannot reveal other evidence because of grand jury secrecy and noted that people who post or sell “86 47” merchandise will not be charged based on the phrase alone.
- Critics including Sen. Adam Schiff called the case weak, Sen. Thom Tillis said “86” is restaurant slang for canceling an item rather than a call to violence, and James Comey denied wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charges.
- The dispute follows an earlier Comey case that a judge dismissed over an improper prosecutor appointment and feeds a broader debate over politicized prosecutions, selective enforcement, and the First Amendment’s intent requirement for true threats.