Why the James Comey trial over NC seashells photo is now pushed to fall
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge Louise Flanagan granted the request; pretrial motions are due July 28.
- Comey’s arraignment is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sept. 30 in New Bern, North Carolina.
- If the case proceeds, trial is now scheduled to begin Oct. 21 in New Bern.
The federal case accusing former FBI Director James Comey of threatening the president’s life with a photo of seashells has been pushed into the fall after a recent court order.
Last week, Comey asked U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan to push back the schedule, which had set the case for trial on July 15. In a May 20 filing, Comey’s attorneys said the legal team needed more time to receive evidence from the government before challenging the charges.
“Mr. Comey expects to file multiple motions on constitutional grounds seeking dismissal of the indictment,” the filing states.
Comey’s attorneys said those motions will be based, in part, on evidence they haven’t received yet from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the federal Eastern District of North Carolina.
Flanagan granted the request. Under the new schedule, pretrial motions are due July 28. Comey’s arraignment, a hearing in which he would plead guilty or not guilty, is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at the federal courthouse in New Bern.
If the case proceeds to a jury trial, it is now scheduled to begin Oct. 21, also in New Bern, where Flanagan is based.
How the James Comey case ended up in North Carolina
The case stems from a May 2025 Instagram post in which Comey shared a photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47” that he said he found on a North Carolina beach. Prosecutors say the post amounted to a threat against President Donald Trump, the 47th president. Comey has said he did not intend the post as a threat and removed it after learning others interpreted it that way.
A North Carolina grand jury indicted Comey on April 28 on two felony charges: threatening the president and transmitting a threat across state lines. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The case has drawn national attention as it tests the line between protected political speech and what federal law treats as a true threat.
Comey’s attorneys are expected to argue that the indictment should be dismissed on constitutional grounds, including First Amendment protections.
They may also raise arguments about selective or vindictive prosecution.
Comey’s team filed a similar motion challenging a September 2025 indictment in Virginia that accused Comey of lying to Congress about leaks to the press. That case was dismissed after two months. A federal judge ruled that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who sought that indictment, was unlawfully appointed.
