Former FBI Director James Comey now has a court date circled on the calendar.

U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan has tentatively scheduled Comey’s criminal trial for July 15 in the Eastern District of North Carolina, according to a written order reported Friday. Comey faces two federal counts alleging he threatened to harm President Donald Trump through a now-deleted Instagram post that depicted seashells arranged to spell “86 47” on a beach.

The case is no longer just an indictment sitting in a docket. It is moving toward a courtroom.

Comey’s arraignment is now set for June 30, after a previously scheduled North Carolina court appearance was canceled. A pretrial conference is on the books for on or before May 29. His legal team has signaled that a motion to dismiss is coming, which makes the next few weeks important for both sides.

ABC News reported on the scheduling order and the broader case timeline:

Judge Flanagan’s written order tentatively puts the case on a July 15 trial calendar. The same court-calendar update moved Comey’s arraignment to June 30 after an earlier North Carolina appearance was canceled. The pretrial conference is scheduled to take place on or before May 29, giving the defense a short window to file the motion to dismiss that Comey’s lawyers have already previewed.

The case centers on a now-deleted Instagram image Comey posted in May 2025 showing seashells arranged to spell “86 47.” Prosecutors allege the image amounted to a threat against President Trump. Comey later removed the image and said he had assumed it was a political message, adding that he did not realize some people associated those numbers with violence.

The calendar update also places the new indictment in a broader legal fight between Comey and the Justice Department. The current case follows a separate, unrelated indictment that was thrown out last year, and the defense is expected to attack this indictment before the case reaches a jury. For now, however, the court has set deadlines that keep the prosecution moving.

The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on April 28 and announced by the Justice Department that same day. It charges Comey with two counts: threatening the president under 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). If convicted, Comey faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The official Justice Department announcement laid out the government’s theory of the case:

The indictment charges Comey with Threatening the President under 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and Transmitting a Threat in Interstate Commerce under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The Justice Department says prosecutors are focused on the May 15, 2025 public Instagram image depicting “86 47,” which they allege a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of intent to harm President Trump.

The department says the grand jury found probable cause to indict Comey and that he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted. The FBI is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Petracca is prosecuting it. The Justice Department also included the standard but important reminder that an indictment is merely an accusation and that Comey is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.

For those unfamiliar with the shorthand, “86” is widely understood as slang for getting rid of someone or something, and “47” refers to President Trump as the 47th president. That combination is why the image drew immediate alarm when Comey posted it.

Comey’s attorneys will get their chance to argue the motion to dismiss before the pretrial conference, and the July 15 date is tentative, meaning it could shift. But the trajectory is clear. A former director of the FBI, the man who once held enormous power over federal investigations, is now on the receiving end of one.

The legal process will determine guilt or innocence. What the calendar already tells us is that this case is not going away.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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