A federal judge has granted former FBI Director James Comey’s request to delay his criminal trial in the case involving allegations that he threatened President Trump through a social media post.
U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan set the new trial date for October 21, with Comey’s arraignment now scheduled for September 30. Prosecutors did not oppose the delay.
Comey has been charged over an Instagram post showing seashells arranged on a beach in the pattern “86 47,” which prosecutors and Trump allies allege amounted to a veiled threat against the 47th president.
At a press briefing last month announcing the charges, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the post crossed a legal line and was not protected under the First Amendment, arguing that threats against the president are explicitly prohibited under federal law.
