FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, before the House Oversight Committee to explain his agency’s recommendation to not prosecute Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential candidate, over her private email setup during her time as secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Former FBI Director James Comey has waived an initial court appearance in his case, where he has been charged with threatening the life of President Donald Trump.
A federal judge in North Carolina agreed to cancel the upcoming court appearance. Comey asked to scrub the long trek and potential walk before press cameras after he already made a court appearance in Alexandria, Virginia regarding his charge. He surrendered but did not enter a plea during that appearance and was read his rights.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan agreed to cancel Comey’s upcoming court appearance if he filed a waiver for the hearing by Friday.
Comey has been accused of threatening Trump with a 2025 social media video he posted in which he showed seashells spelling out “86 47.” Department of Justice officials claim the message was a threat against the president’s life, while others have pointed out that “86” likely referred to simply getting Trump out of office.
His charging document reads:
On or about May 15, 2025, in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the defendant, JAMES BRIEN COMEY JR, did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States, in that he publicly posted a photograph on the internet social media site Instagram which depicted seashells arranged in a pattern making out ’86 47′, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.
Comey has denied any wrongdoing and chalked up the case as politically motivated. He also predicted the indictment “won’t be the end of it.”
“But nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,” he said in a video response to the indictment. “But it’s really important that all of us remember that this is not who we are as a country, this is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be.”
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