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Comey seeks dismissal
Former FBI Director James Comey asked a federal judge to dismiss the criminal case stemming from his 2025 social media post showing seashells arranged to spell "86 47," arguing the message was protected political speech and not a criminal threat against President Donald Trump.
““The indictment alleges that Mr. Comey’s ‘86 47’ post constitutes a ‘true threat’ on the President’s life,” Comey’s attorneys wrote.”
Comey’s attorneys said the indictment alleges the post constitutes a "true threat" on the President’s life, but they argued the claim is contradicted by "every possible source of meaning: dictionaries, context, precedent, and common sense."
Prosecutors allege the seashell arrangement threatened Trump, the 47th president of the United States, and Comey faces charges including making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
The case is US v. Comey, E.D.N.C., No. 26-cr-00016, with a motion to dismiss filed on 7/27/26, and Comey’s arraignment scheduled for Sept. 30 with trial expected to begin in October.
In a separate legal development, a federal judge in DC ruled a progressive group’s use of a flag reading "8647" was not a threat but rather "core protected speech" and barred the National Park Service from suppressing its use.
First Amendment fight
Comey’s lawyers argued the government cannot use criminal prosecution to silence political opposition, and they said the phrase has no violent connotations "except in the most uncommon usages" and was in frequent use even before the indictment.
In court filings described by AP, Comey urged a judge to throw out federal charges, saying the Instagram photo of seashells arranged on a beach was not a call to violence against President Donald Trump but protected political speech.
Comey’s defense also pointed to the slogan’s meaning, with the AP describing that the slogan has long meant “get rid of” or “eject,” and the defense lawyers wrote that “That attempt to suppress core political speech contravenes both the statutes at issue and the First Amendment.”
According to NBC News, Comey’s team argued that even if the phrase could be read to suggest violence, “a reasonable observer would still understand Mr. Comey’s post as mere political hyperbole, not a true threat.”
The AP also reported that Comey deleted the post shortly after it was made and wrote, “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and “I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
What happens next
The motion to dismiss is part of a broader sequence of legal challenges, with the AP noting the seashell case was the second in months targeting Comey and that an earlier Virginia case was dismissed after a judge concluded the prosecutor who brought it was illegally appointed.
““Forcing Mr. Comey to stand trial for a statement opposing the President — even if he is ultimately acquitted — would itself be an unconstitutional punishment of free speech.””
CBS NewsNBC News reported that the Justice Department has until Aug. 18 to respond to Comey’s motions to dismiss, and it said Comey’s team is expected to file a motion arguing the case is the product of selective and vindictive prosecution by Tuesday.
If the case survives, NBC News said it would go to trial in October, while the Local 3 News report said the case is set to go to trial in October and that Comey’s arraignment is scheduled for September 30.
Comey’s attorneys warned that forcing him to stand trial would itself be an unconstitutional punishment of free speech, and the CBS News report quoted the defense saying, "Forcing Mr. Comey to stand trial for a statement opposing the President — even if he is ultimately acquitted — would itself be an unconstitutional punishment of free speech."
The Hill reported that Comey’s filing argued he gave “no indication of his intent to engage in a violent act,” and it said the indictment must be dismissed because it would invite future prosecutions by the Executive Branch against perceived political enemies for their opposition to the President.
