Key Points: James Comey Seashells Case
- James Comey seashells indictment centers on a beach photo spelling “8647”
- His lawyers call the post protected political speech, not a genuine threat
- Prosecutors argue a “reasonable recipient” would see it as intent to harm Trump
- Trial is currently scheduled for October, with arraignment set for September 30
Former FBI Director James Comey is fighting to keep a seashell photo from putting him in front of a jury this fall.
Comey’s attorneys filed a formal motion Monday, asking a federal judge in North Carolina to dismiss the entire indictment against him.
Here’s the backstory behind this bizarre case. Comey posted an Instagram photo in May 2025 showing seashells arranged in the sand spelling “86 47.”
He captioned it simply, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” then deleted the post shortly after sharing it.
Prosecutors saw something far more sinister in that image. They argue “86” commonly means getting rid of something, and Trump is America’s 47th president.
Comey’s legal team pushed back hard against that reading. They call “8647” a well known political slogan expressing opposition to Trump, not a coded threat.
Their filing leaned heavily on First Amendment protections, arguing the indictment “targets and chills core political speech” and fails as a matter of law.
One line from Comey‘s filing stood out sharply. His lawyers wrote that no reasonable observer would understand the phrase to suggest Comey personally intended violence against the president.
Interestingly, Comey’s defense cited Trump’s own past legal arguments too. His team quoted language Trump’s lawyers previously used while defending him in his January 6th case.
Prosecutors see it completely differently. They claim a “reasonable recipient” would interpret the seashell image as a serious expression of intent to harm Trump.
This isn’t Comey’s first fight with Trump’s Justice Department either. An earlier case accusing him of lying to Congress was dismissed last November, after a judge ruled the prosecutor bringing it was unlawfully appointed.
That earlier case saw its own bombshell too. Justice Department lawyers admitted in court that the grand jury never reviewed a complete copy of the final indictment against Comey.
Comey has been blunt about how he views all of this, describing the pattern as reflecting Trump’s “bottomless desire” for retribution against him.
With arraignment scheduled for September 30 and trial currently set for October, this case now hinges entirely on whether the judge agrees Comey’s seashells were speech, or something more.