{"id":941,"date":"2026-05-30T21:35:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T21:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=941"},"modified":"2026-05-30T21:35:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T21:35:34","slug":"us-attorney-seeks-new-lead-prosecutor-in-comey-seashell-case-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=941","title":{"rendered":"US attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Just over a month after indicting former FBI Director James Comey, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in North Carolina is seeking to replace the lead prosecutor in the case.<\/p>\n

Read more Hundreds of Charlotte-area residents reported for breaking drought rules<\/a><\/p>\n

A Friday court filing offers no explanation for the office\u2019s request to withdraw Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Petracca, who has served as lead prosecutor since the indictment was returned in April.<\/p>\n

The filing asks that Petracca be withdrawn from the case and replaced by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo, who will now likely prosecute the case<\/a> for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the federal Eastern District of North Carolina.<\/a> U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle, who was appointed under President Donald Trump\u2019s administration and confirmed by the U.S. Senate<\/a> earlier this month, leads the office.<\/p>\n

Petracca \u00ecs still working for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, Boyle said Saturday. He is transferring to an opening in the civil section. Petracca moved to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office after spending years prosecuting Medicaid fraud for the state of North Carolina, according to information provided by a state official.<\/p>\n

The move comes in a high-profile case that has drawn national attention and follows recent departures or reassignments of prosecutors in several other criminal cases involving people who have clashed with Trump.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, The N&O asked Boyle about critics\u2019 assertions that Trump-era prosecutors are improperly using the federal courts to serve the president\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would suggest that the people suggesting that have no clue what\u2019s going on in this office, and it\u2019s just categorically false,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Boyle also said<\/a> he would never pressure or force any of his employees to prosecute charges they believed were improper.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if I tried, they wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cSo I\u2019m not that worried about it, but I haven\u2019t and I wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, Boyle\u2019s office sent out a news release<\/a> outlining 20 threat-related cases the office in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office has or is prosecuting. The cases stretch back to 2022 and range from threats against the presidents to individuals.<\/p>\n

Read more NC police officer filmed beating woman has been fired, police chief says<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThese cases involve threats intended to intimidate, disrupt government operations, or make victims fear for their safety,\u201d the news release from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office states.<\/p>\n

The next major deadline in the case is July 28, when pretrial motions are due. Comey\u2019s arraignment, a hearing in which he would plead guilty or not guilty, is set for Sept. 30 at the federal courthouse in New Bern.<\/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.<\/p>\n

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines 86 as an informal term meaning to refuse service to a customer, remove an item from a menu, or otherwise get rid of something.<\/p>\n

Trump, the 47th president, has said 86 is a term used by mobsters to refer to killing someone. Comey has said he did not intend the post as a threat and removed it after learning others interpreted it that way.<\/p>\n

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

The prosecution tests where courts draw the line between protected political speech and what federal law defines as a valid threat. Comey\u2019s attorneys are expected to aggressively challenge the charges, including with motions accusing prosecutors of selective or vindictive prosecution.<\/p>\n

Comey\u2019s team filed a similar motion after a September 2025 indictment in Virginia accused him of lying to Congress about leaks to the press. That case was dismissed two months later when a federal judge ruled that the interim U.S. attorney who obtained the indictment had been unlawfully appointed.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 9:51 AM<\/span> with the headline “US attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more UNC men\u2019s basketball adds commitment from Greek star. Meet Alexandros Samodurov<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are seeking to replace the lead prosecutor in the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey.<\/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-941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nUS attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case - \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=941\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case - 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