Former FBI Director James Comey’s now-deleted “86 47” social media post is political speech protected by the First Amendment. It neither constitutes a true threat nor merits federal investigation. There is SCOTUS precedent to prove it.

2/ In 1969, Robert Watts was convicted for saying, “If they ever make me carry a rifle, the first man I want to get in my sights is L.B.J.” SCOTUS reversed the conviction, holding Watts’ speech was 1A-protected political hyperbole, not a true ‘threat.’

3/ Then, in 2023, SCOTUS decided that, to convict a person of true threats, the government must prove the defendant knew his speech would put another in fear of physical harm or consciously disregarded a substantial risk it would be viewed as a threat of violence.

4/ 86 has a lot of possible meanings, and the idea that spelling it out in seashells and posting it to Instagram is a true threat is quite a stretch. The administration should drop any investigation of Mr. Comey because it’s an unconstitutional waste of time.