Comey's Beach Pic Sparks Indictment, Free Speech Debate

0:00Former FBI director James Comey showed up in federal court this Wednesday for his first appearance after getting indicted on charges tied to a social media post. The case stems from him posting a photo nearly a year ago of C-shells on the beach spelling out 8647, which prosecutors say was a, the red against President Trump, the 47th president. He faces counts of threatening the president and successors, plus sending a threat across state lines, but he didn't enter a plea. Trump jumped on it hard, calling 86 a straight up mob term for kill him, so 8647 means take out the president. He labeled Comey a dirty cop who knows exactly what that means, and even pointed folks to gangster movies for proof, though search is turn of nothing, like that. Dictionaries back a different story. Mariam Wefster says 86 just means to kick someone out of a bar or nicks an item, no violence involved. The Republican Senator Tom Tillis dug around online and couldn't find any link to threats

1:01either, warning this might set a low bar for political fights. That could backfire a big time. The Justice Department insists a reasonable person seeing that post, knowing the context, would take it as a real intent to harm the president. Trump doubled down online but got vague when asked if he feels in danger, saying, probably based on what he's seeing out there. This whole saga highlights how one beach pick can spark indictments and heated debates, leaving everyone questioning where the line sits between free. Speech and real threats in today's charged climate. Local news, powered by AI. This is Durham News Today.