in may 2025, former FBI director james comey took a walk on a north carolina beach and noticed something in the sand seashells arranged to spell “86 47.” he took a photo. he posted it. within hours, he deleted it.
more than a year later, that photo is the basis of a federal criminal indictment accusing him of threatening to kill the president of the united states.
What “86 47” Actually Means
the numbers refer to a slogan that circulated widely in anti-trump political circles well before comey’s post. “86” is longstanding restaurant industry slang meaning to get rid of or discard something as in “86 the soup, we’re out.” “47” refers to trump as the 47th president. combined, “86 47” became a common piece of protest merchandise and imagery shirts, stickers, and signs expressing a wish to see trump out of office, similar in spirit to countless political slogans throughout american history.
comey’s lawyers describe it in their court filing as “a well-known political slogan that expresses opposition to the president,” noting that “thousands of items featuring this slogan have been sold on the internet and are available to this day.”
What Comey Actually Did
after posting the photo to instagram, comey deleted it relatively quickly. according to his attorneys’ motion filed monday, he then took two additional steps entirely voluntarily: he contacted the local police chief himself to give advance notice about the developing controversy over the post, and he agreed to be formally interviewed by secret service agents about it.
months later, the department of justice charged him anyway arguing his post constituted a “true threat” against the president, a specific and legally demanding category of unprotected speech that requires prosecutors to show genuine intent to threaten violence, not political commentary or hyperbole.
What Comey’s Lawyers Are Arguing
in their motion to dismiss filed monday in the eastern district of north carolina, comey’s legal team laid out a direct first amendment defense. “this indictment targets protected speech at the heart of the first amendment,” the filing states.
their central argument is that the government has provided no evidence supporting the legal standard the supreme court has established for a “true threat” evidence that comey himself specifically intended to communicate an intent to commit violence, as opposed to expressing a political opinion using widely circulated slang. they point to the sheer ubiquity of the “86 47” slogan as evidence that no reasonable interpretation of the post reads it as a literal threat rather than commentary.
comey is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges september 30 in new bern, north carolina, and is expected to plead not guilty. if the case survives his dismissal motion, a jury trial is expected to begin in october.
This Isn’t Comey’s First Fight With This DOJ
the seashell case is comey’s second criminal indictment under the trump administration in less than a year.
in september 2025, comey was indicted on two separate felony counts related to his september 2020 testimony before the senate judiciary committee accused of falsely denying he authorized an anonymous FBI source and of obstructing that congressional proceeding. that indictment came just days before the five-year statute of limitations would have expired, and notably just days after trump publicly posted that comey should be indicted, directed at then-attorney general pam bondi.
that first case collapsed. a federal judge dismissed the indictment in november 2025, ruling that lindsey halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who presented the case to the grand jury, had been unlawfully appointed in violation of the appointments clause and federal law meaning she lacked legal authority to bring the charges in the first place. reports at the time indicated the prosecution had proceeded over the objections of career prosecutors within the office, several of whom were subsequently fired, demoted, or forced to resign for declining to pursue it, according to a declination memo described in court filings.
the government appealed that dismissal to the fourth circuit, where it remains pending, consolidated with a similar case involving new york attorney general letitia james another trump political adversary facing her own contested indictment.
Why the Second Case Landed With a Different Prosecutor
the seashell indictment was brought weeks after trump elevated todd blanche his own former personal criminal defense attorney to acting attorney general, following the dismissal of pam bondi. reporting at the time indicated trump had grown frustrated that bondi was not aggressively pursuing prosecutions against his political opponents.
comey’s attorney, patrick lederman, called the new indictment “an embarrassment,” and noted that despite comey deleting the post and voluntarily cooperating with secret service questioning, the trump administration had him “physically and digitally trailed” afterward.
Comey Seashell Indictment The Bottom Line
a former FBI director walked on a beach, saw a common political phrase spelled out in shells, photographed it, deleted it within hours, and proactively looped in local police and the secret service. that sequence of events is now the basis of a federal felony case alleging a threat on the president’s life comey’s second criminal indictment from this administration in under a year, after the first one was thrown out for being brought by an unlawfully appointed prosecutor.
whether the seashell case survives comey’s first amendment challenge will be decided in the weeks ahead of his september 30 arraignment.
follow this blog for updates as the case develops.
