A federal judge on Tuesday granted former FBI Director James Comey’s request to delay his criminal trial over allegations that he threatened President Donald Trump through a social media post featuring seashells arranged in the numbers “86 47.”
U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan rescheduled the trial to begin Oct. 21 in New Bern, North Carolina, after prosecutors did not oppose the delay request. The trial had previously been set for July 15. Comey’s arraignment is now scheduled for Sept. 30.
The delay came after Comey’s lawyers indicated they plan to file “multiple motions on constitutional grounds” seeking dismissal of the case before trial. Those motions are expected to be filed in July.
A federal grand jury charged Comey in late April with threatening harm to the president and transmitting a threat across state lines stemming from a May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells arranged on a North Carolina beach to form the numbers “86 47.” Trump allies and administration officials have said the phrase amounted to a veiled threat against Trump, the 47th president.
The slang term “86,” which originated in the restaurant industry, can mean to discard, remove, or “get rid of” something.
Comey later deleted the post amid backlash and said he did not realize the image could be interpreted as advocating violence. While he has yet to enter a plea, the former FBI director has maintained his innocence and even mused that he will become eligible to apply for Trump’s recently established “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
“Well, they’re back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina Beach a year ago,” Comey said in a video posted online after the indictment was unsealed. “And this won’t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.”
Critics of Trump have argued the prosecution reflects a broader effort to target perceived enemies after a federal judge last year dismissed a separate indictment against Comey on unrelated charges.
At a press conference announcing the case last month, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the prosecution and argued Comey crossed the line between protected political speech and a criminal threat.
“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.”
COMEY SAYS HE ‘WOULD NOT’ BE SURPRISED BY THIRD INDICTMENT FROM TRUMP DOJ
Comey could still be on the hook for other matters unrelated to the alleged Trump threat. In South Florida, prosecutors have reportedly subpoenaed the former FBI director in a sprawling investigation into whether he played an outsize role in influencing the Trump-Russia investigation, in addition to subpoenas for former officials, including ex-CIA Director John Brennan, issued in that inquiry.
While it remains a long shot for the government, a separate criminal case dismissed last year could still come back to haunt Comey if the administration is successful in its appeal of a judge’s order throwing out an indictment for false statements pertaining to Comey’s 2020 testimony to Congress.