Christine Drews Sieger
Federal prosecutors argue that former FBI Director James Comey’s social media post featuring beach seashells arranged as “86 47” constituted an implicit death threat against President Donald Trump.
Federal prosecutors are doubling down on their case against former FBI Director James Comey over a social media upload.
According to the Associated Press, cited by HuffPost, prosecutors declared in court filings that “there is no serious dispute” an objective viewer could read a photo of arranged seashells as a death threat against President Donald Trump.
The controversial image went live on Instagram in May 2025 during Comey’s coastal walk in North Carolina. In the picture, small shells clearly formed the numbers 86 and 47.
The term “86” is defined as discarding, ejecting, or denying service. Trump currently serves as the 47th U.S. president.
Books and beach strolls
Defense attorneys argue that the slogan has long meant to “get rid of” or “eject” an official and regularly appears on protest items.
The AP reported that Comey’s legal team accuses investigators of misleading judges, submitting false statements, and failing to prove Comey intended any physical threat.
Prosecutors offer a sharper, commercial explanation for the post. They noted the picture appeared just days before Comey released a novel about a prosecutor chasing a social media figure whose words inspire fans to attack political foes.
Comey responded that that was “not my intention, but I’ll be OK if it sells books.” The agent replied, “Music to an agent’s ears.”
Location raises doubts
Government attorneys also questioned Comey’s story about finding the shell pattern on a walk.
They noted the location sat 4 miles “down from the beach from beachfront property where Comey was staying, in an area separated from the ocean by a sand dune.”
Prosecutors added that there was “no evidence that anyone else arranged, photographed, or even saw the shells.”
Adding to their arguments, the prosecution noted that Comey received a text from his wife explaining the definition of “86” just moments before he shared the photo.
Comey deleted the post shortly after it provoked anger, saying he never knew anyone interpreted the numbers as a call to violence. His defense team calls the case part of a vindictive retribution campaign, the AP reports.
The legal fight is far from over
The case now turns on whether prosecutors can prove that Comey’s post amounted to a genuine threat rather than political expression, according to Associated Press.
In its latest court filing, the Justice Department argued that there is “no serious dispute” the image could be understood as threatening Trump, while Comey’s lawyers maintain that prosecutors have failed to establish either intent or knowledge that the numbers could carry a violent meaning.
The dispute is therefore likely to center heavily on what Comey intended when he posted the image — and whether the government can prove that intent beyond the meaning others later assigned to it.
