Former FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to stand trial July 15 on federal charges alleging he communicated threats against President Donald Trump through a social media post prosecutors claim contained coded language.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal judge has scheduled a July 15 trial date for former FBI Director James Comey in a criminal case accusing him of threatening President Donald Trump through a social media image posted online in 2025.
According to a federal scheduling order issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan, the case will proceed in federal court in New Bern, North Carolina.
The order came after Flanagan canceled Comey’s previously scheduled May 11 initial appearance following his decision to formally waive attendance. Comey had already been processed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, near his residence.
Comey is expected to appear for arraignment on June 30, where he is anticipated to enter a not-guilty plea ahead of trial.
Federal prosecutors charged Comey in a two-count indictment alleging he knowingly and willfully communicated threats toward Trump through a now-deleted Instagram post published in May 2025.
The post featured seashells arranged to display the numbers “86 47.”
Prosecutors argue the image carried a coded meaning, asserting that “86” is commonly used slang meaning to eliminate or remove someone, while “47” referred to Trump as the 47th president of the United States.
Comey has denied threatening the president. At the time the controversy erupted, he stated that he discovered the shell arrangement while walking on a beach and interpreted it only as a political message. He later removed the post after learning some individuals viewed it as advocating violence.
Judge Flanagan, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ordered that all pretrial motions be filed by June 5, with responses due June 15. The court also scheduled a pretrial conference to occur on or before May 29.
The scheduling order referenced a Speedy Trial Act deadline of July 17, although the timeline could change if defense motions delay proceedings.
Defense attorneys have indicated they intend to seek dismissal of the charges by arguing selective and vindictive prosecution.
The current case marks the second federal criminal prosecution involving Comey since Trump returned to office.
A previous case accusing Comey of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding during Senate testimony in 2020 was dismissed last November.
In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan had been unlawfully appointed and concluded that her prosecutorial actions — including obtaining the indictment — were legally void.
The Trump administration later appealed the dismissal.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has stated publicly that prosecutors intend to rely on evidence beyond the Instagram image itself, though he has not disclosed what additional material the government plans to introduce at trial.
Comey, who was dismissed as FBI director by Trump in 2017, has characterized the renewed prosecution as politically motivated retaliation.
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