CNN
By Hannah Rabinowitz, Kristen Holmes, Holmes Lybrand, CNN
(CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Tuesday over a photo of seashells that officials said threatened President Donald Trump, marking the administration’s second attempt to prosecute one of his largest political opponents, three sources first told CNN.
The indictment was brought in the Eastern District of North Carolina. An arrest warrant was issued for Comey by a court clerk.
Comey faces charges of making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, according to court documents.
The charges come with a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
“He publicly posted a photograph on the internet social media site Instagram which depicted seashells arranged in a pattern making out ‘86 47’, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States,” the indictment says.
Comey responded to the indictment in a video posted to his Substack account.
“I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid,” Comey said. “And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.”
Trump has long pressed for his political adversaries to face charges, including the former FBI director he sees as a key leader in the perceived effort to “weaponize” justice system against him.
Last May, Comey posted a photo on social media of shells on a beach writing out the numbers “86 47,” which critics said referred to taking out or killing Trump.
When used as slang, the number 86 can refer to getting rid of or tossing something out. Trump is currently the 47th president. Comey posted the photo of the shells, writing in the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
In a press conference Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche talked about the case as an example of the Justice Department’s effort to prosecute people who make threats against the president.
Immediately following the presse conference, Blanche showed up at the White House.
“Over the past year, this department has charged dozens of cases involving threats against all sorts of individuals,” Blanche said. “We take these seriously. Every single one of them.”
When asked by CNN’s Evan Perez why the Justice Department requested an arrest warrant in this case, Blanche pointed to the grand jury in North Carolina.
“The Department of Justice does not issue arrest warrants, grand juries do,” he said. “And so the grand jury returned an indictment and arrest warrant, I expect that there will be communication with Mr. Comey’s counsel, and we’ll go from there. This case will proceed like hundreds of others do every year.”
The court docket includes a request for an arrest warrant submitted with Justice Department letterhead, with no signature from the grand jury.
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