{"id":719,"date":"2026-05-26T16:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=719"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:07:14","slug":"why-the-james-comey-trial-over-nc-seashells-photo-is-now-pushed-to-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=719","title":{"rendered":"Why the James Comey trial over NC seashells photo is now pushed to fall"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The federal case accusing former FBI Director James Comey of threatening the president\u2019s life with a photo of seashells has been pushed into the fall after a recent court order.<\/p>\n

Read more Journalism veteran to lead Charlotte Observer newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week, Comey asked U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan to push back the schedule, which had set the case for trial on July 15. In a May 20 filing, Comey\u2019s attorneys said the legal team needed more time to receive evidence from the government before challenging the charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Comey expects to file multiple motions on constitutional grounds seeking dismissal of the indictment,\u201d the filing states.<\/p>\n

Comey\u2019s attorneys said those motions will be based, in part, on evidence they haven\u2019t received yet from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the federal Eastern District of North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Flanagan granted the request. Under the new schedule, pretrial motions are due July 28. Comey\u2019s arraignment, a hearing in which he would plead guilty or not guilty, is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at the federal courthouse in New Bern.<\/p>\n

If the case proceeds to a jury trial, it is now scheduled to begin Oct. 21, also in New Bern, where Flanagan is based.<\/p>\n

The case stems from a May 2025 Instagram post in which Comey shared a photo of seashells arranged to read \u201c86 47\u201d that he said he found on a North Carolina beach. Prosecutors say the post amounted to a threat against President Donald Trump, the 47th president. Comey has said he did not intend the post as a threat and removed it after learning others interpreted it that way.<\/p>\n

Read more Workers injured by \u2018explosion\u2019 at paper plant in North Carolina, sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n

A North Carolina grand jury indicted Comey on April 28 on two felony charges: threatening the president and transmitting a threat across state lines. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.<\/p>\n

The case has drawn national attention as it tests the line between protected political speech and what federal law treats as a true threat.<\/p>\n

Comey\u2019s attorneys are expected to argue that the indictment should be dismissed on constitutional grounds, including First Amendment protections.<\/p>\n

They may also raise arguments about selective or vindictive prosecution.<\/p>\n

Comey\u2019s team filed a similar motion challenging a September 2025 indictment in Virginia that accused Comey of lying to Congress about leaks to the press. That case was dismissed after two months. A federal judge ruled that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who sought that indictment, was unlawfully appointed.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 12:04 PM<\/span> with the headline “Why the James Comey trial over NC seashells photo is now pushed to fall.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more You can\u2019t escape your party\u2019s racial agenda, NC Republicans | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former FBI director James Comey\u2019s North Carolina trial over a seashell photo prosecutors say threatened President Trump has been delayed until October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy the James Comey trial over NC seashells photo is now pushed to fall - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/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:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=719\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why the James Comey trial over NC seashells photo is now pushed to fall - 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