{"id":1207,"date":"2026-07-28T10:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T10:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2026-07-28T10:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T10:11:41","slug":"comey-attorneys-seek-dismissal-of-indictment-over-86-47%e2%80%b2-instagram-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1207","title":{"rendered":"Comey Attorneys Seek Dismissal of Indictment Over \u201986 47\u2032 Instagram Post"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey are asking a federal court to toss out the indictment accusing him of threatening President Donald Trump\u2019s life, arguing his Instagram post of seashells spelling \u201c86 47\u201d was nothing more than protected political speech.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Administration Asks SCOTUS to Revive Mail-In Voting Order Ahead of Midterms<\/a><\/p>\n

Comey was indicted in April over the post, published in May 2025 and later deleted, which prosecutors say amounted to a threat against the president. In a filing Monday, Comey\u2019s legal team called the case an assault on the First Amendment, insisting the numbers referenced a slogan that has circulated at protests and on merchandise nationwide, rather than any call for violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Comey, an outspoken critic of President Trump, posted a photograph of seashells spelling out \u201986 47,\u2019 a well-known political slogan that expresses opposition to the President,\u201d the filing said, adding that thousands of items bearing the phrase have been sold online and that it was a common sight at demonstrations in the months before his post.<\/p>\n

The defense accused the Justice Department of singling out Comey \u201cto prosecute one of the President\u2019s most prominent critics for publishing another person\u2019s statement of political opposition,\u201d calling the effort an unconstitutional attempt to suppress speech. Prosecutors, however, have pointed to the phrase\u2019s widely understood meaning as coded language for killing the president, a reading that helped drive the grand jury\u2019s decision to indict one of Trump\u2019s most vocal law enforcement critics.<\/p>\n

Comey has denied any intent to threaten Trump and is expected to plead not guilty at an arraignment scheduled for next month in North Carolina. His attorneys argue that even a trial ending in acquittal would amount to unconstitutional punishment and could invite future prosecutions of the president\u2019s perceived political opponents, noting that officials have warned they would pursue anyone who tries to \u201ccopycat\u201d Comey\u2019s post.<\/p>\n

Read more Biden vs. McConnell: A Tale of Two Declines, Part Two<\/a><\/p>\n

The filing also disclosed that after deleting the image, Comey reached out to his local police chief to flag the controversy and later agreed to sit for an interview with Secret Service agents, details his lawyers say undercut any claim that he intended a genuine threat. They argue prosecutors have not met the Supreme Court\u2019s demanding standard for proving a \u201ctrue threat,\u201d which requires evidence Comey himself meant to incite violence.<\/p>\n

Comey\u2019s team also sought to draw a contrast with Trump\u2019s own rhetoric, pointing to the president\u2019s earlier description of lawmakers who urged troops to disobey unlawful orders as committing \u201ctreason\u201d that was \u201cpunishable by death.\u201d The comparison drew immediate skepticism from Trump allies, who note the president was addressing lawmakers accused of encouraging service members to defy the commander in chief, a markedly different scenario than a former top law enforcement official publicly signaling hostility toward a sitting president he has spent years attacking.<\/p>\n

The case marks the latest chapter in the long-running feud between Trump and Comey, whom the president fired as FBI director in 2017 and has repeatedly accused of politicizing the bureau\u2019s Russia investigation into his 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n

Read more The State of American Elections: For the Left, \u2018The Worse, the Better\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey are asking a federal court to toss out the indictment accusing him of threatening President Donald Trump\u2019s life\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nComey Attorneys Seek Dismissal of Indictment Over \u201986 47\u2032 Instagram Post - Urban Economy news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1207\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Comey Attorneys Seek Dismissal of Indictment Over \u201986 47\u2032 Instagram Post - 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