Trial against ex-FBI chief Comey over mussel post on Instagram postponed to February 2027

The trial against former FBI chief James Comey over an alleged threat against US President Donald Trump will not begin until February 2027 after being postponed again. Judge Louise Flanagan granted a request from the defense as several relevant applications still needed to be decided. This includes the demand that the lawsuit against Comey be dismissed. The start of the trial had previously been postponed from July to October.

Trouble over shells

In May 2025, Comey uploaded a picture of shells on the beach to Instagram that form the numbers “86 47”. Trump is the 47th President of the USA. His supporters interpreted this as a call for an assassination attempt on the head of state. Comey denied that it was a call for violence. The indictment now accuses him of knowingly spreading a death threat against Trump.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “86” is an obsolete term first recorded in the 1930s. Among other things, it means that something is sold out in a restaurant. Later the meanings “get rid of” or “reject” were added. “The recently adopted meanings include a logical extension of the previous one, namely the meaning “to kill,” says Merriam-Webster, but this is rarely used.

Comey denies threats of violence

Comey deleted the post after criticism and later wrote on Instagram that he only saw a political message in the shell formation. He rejected the idea that he wanted to call for violence against Trump. “I was not aware that some people associate these numbers with violence,” he wrote.

In the trial, prosecutors will face the challenge of proving that Comey had clear intent when he allegedly threatened Trump. According to previous information from the former FBI director, he discovered the numbers made from shells while walking on the beach.