Overview
- James Comey is set for an initial appearance in Greenville federal court before Magistrate Judge Kimberly Swank after a grand jury charged him with making a threat against President Trump.
- The two-count indictment alleges violations of 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), which together carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if he is convicted.
- Prosecutors say a 2025 Instagram photo of seashells arranged as “86 47” conveyed a true threat, noting that “86” is slang for “get rid of” and that Trump is the 47th president.
- Comey deleted the post and later wrote that he did not realize some people link those numbers to violence and that he opposes violence of any kind.
- Bloomberg Law reported that prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have revived a separate inquiry into alleged classified disclosures tied to documents Comey shared with a Columbia professor, with meetings underway and no grand jury action reported.