Former FBI Director James Comey is pushing back hard against federal charges that he threatened the president. In new legal briefs filed in North Carolina, Comey’s defense team is asking a federal judge to completely dismiss the case.
The felony charges stem from a May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells on an Emerald Isle beach arranged to spell out "86 forty-seven." While federal prosecutors argue the post uses mafia slang meaning to "eliminate" the forty-seventh president, Comey's lawyers counter that it is protected First Amendment speech, explaining "86" is simply a standard restaurant term meaning to refuse service or remove an item.
A federal judge has blocked outside groups from filing amicus briefs, keeping the fight strictly between the Department of Justice and Comey.
Comey is scheduled for arraignment in New Bern on September 30, with a trial set for October 21. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison.
