Former FBI Director James Comey will appear in federal court in New Bern, North Carolina, on June 30 to enter a plea on charges that he threatened President Donald Trump with a social media post showing seashells arranged as “86 47.”
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan set the arraignment date in a scheduling order issued Friday, May 8.
If Comey pleads not guilty, a trial is tentatively scheduled to begin July 15 in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Court officials note that the July date could shift as lawyers handle pretrial motions and evidence.
The whole controversy kicked off with an Instagram post that James Comey quickly deleted on May 15, 2025. In it, he shared a photo of seashells lined up on a North Carolina beach to spell out “86 47.” His caption read: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Federal prosecutors say the post was no accident. They argue “86” is slang for killing or getting rid of something, and 47 refers to Trump as the 47th president.
Comey Faces Two Major Charges
The two-count indictment charges Comey with threatening the president and transmitting a threat through interstate commerce. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Comey has been defending himself by saying he came across the shell pattern by chance and thought it was a political message, not a call for violence.
Once he saw how some people read it, he took the post down right away. “I oppose violence of any kind,” he said at the time.
This marks the second major federal case the Trump Justice Department has brought against Comey. The first, filed last year, alleged lying to Congress. A judge later dismissed those charges.
The seashell investigation started soon after the post went up. The Secret Service investigated, and the case was turned over to prosecutors in North Carolina, where the beach walk took place. A grand jury returned the indictment in late April 2026.
Comey’s lawyers asked to skip an earlier court date this week, saying their client had already appeared in Virginia on the charges.
Prosecutors did not object, and the judge agreed. The June 30 hearing will be the formal arraignment.
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Supporters of the charges say public figures must be careful with their words, especially after years of heated political rhetoric and real security threats against presidents.
Trump allies called the seashell photo dangerous and obvious in its meaning. They also noted the the President faces threats on his life, particularly assassination attempts.
The case has drawn plenty of attention, with some seeing it as accountability for a longtime Washington insider who has clashed with Trump for years.
Some see it as political payback, given that Comey led the FBI during the early stages of the Russia investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump fired him in 2017 and has repeatedly called him a liar and a biased operator.
Comey, 65, served as FBI director from 2013 until his dismissal. Before that, he worked as a federal prosecutor and later as deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration.
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Details about the full evidence stay under wraps. Prosecutors have said the case goes beyond the single Instagram photo and includes other material gathered over nearly a year.
Defense lawyers will get access to that information during discovery.
A pretrial conference has been scheduled for late May. Lawyers on both sides will hash out which evidence can be admitted at trial and whether any charges should be dismissed.
Meanwhile, the former FBI chief remains free as the case moves forward. His team has made clear they plan to fight every step of the way.
