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- James Comey Jr. asked a judge to move his October trial and arraignment to January.
- Comey said additional time is needed to prepare for trial.
- The charges stem from a May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells reading “86 47.”
James Comey Jr. has asked a federal judge to push his North Carolina arraignment and trial on charges of threatening President Donald Trump into next year.
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In a filing Monday, Comey asked U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan to move both court dates, currently set for October, to the Eastern District of North Carolina’s January term.
Defense challenges threat charges
The request follows months of legal challenges to the federal charges as Comey’s attorneys also prepare for a separate appellate hearing in Virginia.
“Mr. Comey makes this motion because additional time is needed to prepare for trial,” his attorneys wrote in Monday’s filing.
Comey and his legal team have focused in recent months on motions seeking to dismiss the two charges accusing the former FBI director of threatening the president through a May 2025 Instagram post, the filing states.
Comey was indicted in April on charges alleging that he threatened Trump by sharing a photograph of seashells arranged to read “86 47” with his 200,000 Instagram followers.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” he wrote.
After receiving backlash, including a harsh text from an estranged relative contending “86” implied violence against Trump, the 47th president, Comey deleted the post, according to court filings. Comey has said he didn’t know that the term “86,” commonly defined as getting rid of something, could be associated with violence.
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In July, Comey asked the judge to dismiss the charges, arguing that the post was a political statement that did not meet the legal definition of a “true threat.”
Comey also argued that he was selectively and vindictively prosecuted because of his criticism of Trump, who ended Comey’s tenure as FBI director in 2017.
Separate Virginia case heads to appeals court
Meanwhile, Comey’s attorneys have been preparing for oral arguments Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in a separate case from Virginia.
In September 2024 Comey was indicted on two felony charges in the Eastern District of Virginia, which alleged that he lied to Congress about leaking information to the media. The case was dismissed two months later after a judge found that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s appointment violated the law.
The Justice Department appealed the decision. On Tuesday, the Halligan’s appointment was lawful and whether the indictments she sought were valid.
This story was originally published September 15, 2026 at 6:25 AM with the headline “Former FBI director James Comey asks judge to delay NC Trump threat trial.”
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