Man, there are times when you really, really want photographs and/or video of an event to tell the story. Unfortunately, that is not the case here, but we can still tell you what happened Wednesday afternoon:
Former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted Tuesday on two counts related to his infamous “86 47” post, which seemed to call for the death of President Trump, turned himself in to law enforcement at a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia. His case will eventually be tried in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where the charges were filed.
The hearing wrapped up a short time ago:
Former FBI Director James Comey's first court appearance for his latest federal indictment ended on Wednesday without him making a plea.
Judge William Fitzpatrick informed Comey of the charges against him, saying the two counts both carry up to five years in prison.
The first count is making a threat against the President of the United States, the second is interstate transmission of a threat against the President of the United States.
There was no arraignment, and Fitzpatrick did not set any conditions for Comey's release, aside from removing any firearms from Comey's household.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who took over the DOJ following the ouster of Pam Bondi, strongly denied Wednesday that the charges came at the behest of the president:
Acting Attorney Todd Blanche stated that the indictment against former FBI Director James Comey is "not an audition" for the top job at the Justice Department on Wednesday.
Blanche made the statement during an interview with CBS News, going on to say he was "absolutely, positively not" directed or asked by President Donald Trump to pursue the indictment.
“I don’t audition for this job,” Blanche told Garrett. “I’ve been the deputy attorney general for over a year, OK? This is not an audition.”
“Of course not,” Blanche added when asked whether Trump asked for the indictment. “Absolutely, positively not, and there’s no suggestion that that’s the case that happened, and the fact that we’re doing our work –– this is not something that just happened in the past couple weeks. This is something that has been investigated for nearly a year now, and the results of that investigation is that a grand jury returned an indictment.”
Those comments appear at the 4:18 minute mark:
A grand jury has indicted former FBI director James Comey, after the Justice Department claimed a photo Comey posted online of seashells appearing to spell out “86 47” threatened President Trump. Comey denied the accusation.
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) April 29, 2026
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told CBS… pic.twitter.com/0clExpzLnm
A grand jury has indicted former FBI director James Comey, after the Justice Department claimed a photo Comey posted online of seashells appearing to spell out “86 47” threatened President Trump. Comey denied the accusation.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told CBS Mornings that the proof of the threat lies in “the fact that a grand jury returned an indictment.”
“That is not the Department of Justice charging James Comey with a crime,” he added.
MORE: Comey Will Be Placed Under Arrest Today, Acting AG Todd Blanche Defends Seriousness of Indictment
Out of the Swamp: Comey Faces Arrest Warrant in NC After '86 47' Seashell Threat
Comey, as we’ve reported, proclaims total innocence and argues that even as the former director of the top law enforcement agency in the world, he had no idea what “86” (kill) “47” (the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump) meant. Sure, I see seashell formations like that all the time — as in never.
BREAKING: James Comey has issued a response to a grand jury indicting him on TWO FELONIES
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 28, 2026
Comey made clear he has ZERO remorse for dogwhistling his followers to kiII President Trump, and portrays himself as the victim
Throw the BOOK at this piece of trash. pic.twitter.com/WXVnwSjPF9
Some legal experts have questioned whether the charges will stand up to First Amendment claims, but as our Rusty Weiss reported earlier Wednesday, Blanche feels very strongly that the DOJ has a solid case. RedState will keep you posted.
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