A federal judge has delayed former FBI Director James Comey’s trial on charges he threatened President Donald Trump until 2027, citing the gravity of the case and pending motions as defense lawyers seek more time.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan in North Carolina issued an order Friday delaying Comey’s arraignment until January. The proceeding had been set for Wednesday in New Bern, N.C. UPI reported the judge also said the trial itself will not begin until 2027 while she works through multiple motions.
Comey faces charges tied to an Instagram photo showing the numbers 8647 written out in seashells on a beach. Federal prosecutors said the image constituted a threat against Trump. They pointed to “86” as restaurant shorthand for “get rid of,” with “47” standing for Trump as the 47th president.
Flanagan explained the continuance in plain terms. In her order she wrote: “The gravity of the charges, pending motions and the need to provide defense counsel additional time to prepare for trial promote need for continuance.”
"The gravity of the charges, pending motions and the need to provide defense counsel additional time to prepare for trial promote need for continuance,"
Comey’s team asked the judge in July to dismiss the case. The defense argued the seashell photo could not be considered “a true threat.” Counsel also sought a delay.
The judge’s schedule now stretches years past the original arraignment date. Arraignment moves to January. Trial planning points to 2027.
This is the second time a grand jury has indicted Comey during Trump’s second term. A judge dismissed the first case in November.
Comey has long criticized the president. Trump fired him as FBI director in 2017. Comey has said Trump is targeting him because of that criticism. The president previously claimed Comey had committed a crime in connection with the earlier indictment.
Prosecutors are treating the Instagram post as more than beach art. Their theory rests on the coded reading of 8647 as a call to eliminate the 47th president. Defense lawyers reject that reading and call the photo protected expression that falls short of a true threat.
Flanagan is still sorting through the motions on her docket. The order gives defense counsel more time to prepare. It also keeps the charges alive deep into the next presidential term.
The original plan put Comey in a New Bern courtroom this week for arraignment. That date is gone. January is the new checkpoint. 2027 is the trial horizon the judge has now set.
No full charging text, docket number, or complete Instagram caption appears in the available reporting. The core facts remain the seashell photo, the prosecutors’ “86” and “47” reading, the defense true-threat challenge, the November dismissal of the first case, and Flanagan’s continuance order.
When a former FBI director faces a threat case over seashells and the calendar slips to 2027, the public is entitled to a clear record, a firm schedule, and equal application of the law, no special track for political celebrities.
