Ex-FBI boss James Comey has surrendered to law enforcement as he faces charges over threatening Donald Trump‘s life in an Instagram post.
Comey surrendered on Wednesday at a federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he was taken into custody ahead of his initial court appearance.
He faces two federal charges: threatening the President and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Comey declared his innocence in a video message on Substack. ‘I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,’ he said.
Comey entered and exited the Alexandria courthouse through a side door reserved for criminal defendants, wearing a dark suit and remaining silent throughout the hearing.
Judge William Fitzpatrick allowed Comey to leave without placing conditions on his release. The former FBI director did not enter a plea on Wednesday. Comey’s attorneys plan to file motions accusing the DOJ of selectively and vindictively prosecuting him at the President’s direction.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who announced the charges, denied that Trump had directed him to bring the case.
His indictment relates to an Instagram post Comey made last May featuring seashells arranged to spell out ‘8647’, a phrase adopted by Trump’s critics that the President and his allies have characterized as a call for his assassination.
Comey left the Virginia courthouse in the back of a car
Comey entered and exited courthouse through a side door reserved for criminal defendants, wearing a dark suit and remaining silent throughout the hearing
Comey surrendered Wednesday at a federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia , where he was taken into custody ahead of his initial court appearance
He faces two federal charges: threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce
Comey was joined at the courthouse with his family
The number 86 is slang for removing or getting rid of something, though it can also mean to kill. Trump is the 47th President.
Comey posted the photo with the caption: ‘Cool shell formation on my beach walk.’ He later deleted the post on the same day and apologized.
Trump’s allies claimed the post called for Trump’s assassination. Then-homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said the Secret Service would investigate the former FBI director.
The Justice Department says Comey ‘knowingly and willfully’ made threats against the President’s life and allegedly transmitted a threat via social media.
‘You cannot threaten to kill the President of the United States. Full stop,’ said Blanche on Tuesday at a press conference.
Secret Service agents conducted an hours-long interview with Comey soon afterward. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard at the time said he should be ‘put behind bars for this’ and that she was ‘concerned’ Trump’s life was in danger.
Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia last fall on two counts: making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, related to his 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony.
A federal judge dismissed the indictment in November, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed.
The number 86 is slang for removing or getting rid of something, though it can also mean to kill. Trump is the 47th President
Trump’s allies claimed the post called for Trump’s assassination. Then-homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said the Secret Service would investigate the former FBI director
Blanche’s push to indict him comes a month after Trump fired his predecessor, Pam Bondi, for failing to pursue his perceived enemies aggressively enough.
Trump accidentally posted a message on Truth Social in September, pressuring Bondi to prosecute his political enemies, including Comey.
The President’s message to Bondi came just days before the initial Comey indictment.
The Justice Department initially dropped the seashells investigation into Comey under Bondi, but it was revived in recent months, according to the New York Times.
Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal attorney before joining the administration, appears to have led efforts to revive the targeting of Trump’s political enemies.
Comey led the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian collusion with the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, before the President fired him the following year.
He remains one of Trump’s most vocal critics on network television.
