Former FBI Director James Comey on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment charging him with threatening to kill President Trump over a photo of seashells arranged to spell “8647” on a North Carolina beach.
Comey’s lawyers argue the post is classic First Amendment-protected political speech, not a “true threat.” They say “8647” is a widely recognized slogan used to express opposition to Trump — with “86” simply meaning “get rid of” or “eject,” and “47” referring to Trump as the 47th president.
“No reasonable observer would understand the phrase ‘86 47’ to connote violence at all, let alone to threaten that Mr. Comey personally would commit violence against the President,” the motion states.
The defense notes that thousands of items featuring the same slogan remain for sale online and that the phrase was commonly displayed at protests across the country in the months before Comey’s post. Dictionaries, context, and common usage all undercut the government’s claim that “86” means “to kill,” the lawyers wrote.
They accuse the government of selectively targeting one of Trump’s most prominent critics for republishing a statement of political opposition that has been widely used by others without consequence. The motion calls the indictment an attempt to suppress core political speech that violates both the relevant statutes and the First Amendment.
