James Comey indicted again, this time over seashell Instagram post

Comey faces two charges, including Threats Against the President and Successors.

A federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted former FBI Director James Comey over a controversial Instagram post from last year that President Donald Trump and members of his administration claimed was a threat against the president.

Renewing efforts to prosecute one of Trump's longtime adversaries, Department of Justice prosecutors brought the case after a judge last year threw out an indictment against Comey on unrelated charges.

The new indictment centers on a controversy that erupted nearly a year ago when Comey, in a since-deleted Instagram post, shared a picture showing the numbers "86 47" written in seashells on the beach with the caption "Cool shell formation on my beach walk." Citing the slang meaning of "86" as to "nix" or "get rid" of something, allies of the president allege that the post was a veiled threat against Trump, who is the 47th president.

As outlined in the short, three-page indictment, Comey faces one charge of threats against the president and successors, and one charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

Prosecutors in the indictment say the post constitutes a threat that any "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."

"Nothing has changed with me," Comey posted online in response to the indictment, echoing what he said after the previous indictment was thrown out last year. "I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary so let's go."

"But it's really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country, this is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be and the good news is we get closer every day to restoring those values," he added. "Keep the faith."

At a press conference announcing the charges, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche argued that Comey's post crossed the line between First Amendment-protected speech and speech that warrants prosecution.

"It's not a very difficult line to look at, and it's not, in my mind, a difficult line for one to cross over, one way or the other," Blanche said. "We cannot, you are not allowed to threaten the President of the United States of America. That's not my decision. That's Congress's decision, and a statute that they passed that we charge multiple times a year."

Asked about the evidence in the case beyond the social media post itself, Blanche claimed there's been a "tremendous amo