Ex-FBI Chief Comey Seeks Dismissal of Trump Threat Case

Former FBI Director James Comey is urging a federal judge to dismiss a case that accuses him of threatening former President Donald Trump through an Instagram post. The Justice Department brought the charges related to a photo Comey shared in May 2025. The image showed seashells arranged to form the number "8647" with a caption about a beach walk.

Trump supporters interpreted the post as a coded threat. They pointed to the slang meaning of "86" as "eliminate" or "get rid of," noting that Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Comey's legal team contends that the charges infringe upon his First Amendment right to free speech. They argue that the photo does not constitute a genuine threat and that others who have used similar phrasing have not faced accusations.

This is the second legal challenge against Comey, a vocal critic of Trump. A previous lawsuit filed by the Justice Department, which alleged false statements to Congress and obstruction related to the 2016 Russia investigation, was dismissed by a court. That dismissal, along with a similar case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, was based on the finding that the special counsel appointed by Trump to lead the cases had been illegally appointed.

Comey, a Republican appointed FBI director in 2013 by President Barack Obama, was fired by Trump in 2017. His dismissal followed controversy surrounding his leadership of the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, which Trump won.

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Curious formation of shells during my walk on the beach.