Trump DOJ Cites James Comey Novel as It Argues Jury Should Decide If Seashells Were Coded Threat to Kill President

Former FBI Director James Comey was not merely sharing a beachside curiosity when he posted an image of seashells arranged as “8647” on a North Carolina shore, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice argues. In the government’s telling, Comey is a “charismatic leader” who understood exactly what the message would convey — a point prosecutors say is reinforced by what they call his “eerily on-the-nose novel.”

The DOJ on Tuesday submitted multiple filings opposing Comey’s efforts to suppress evidence, obtain grand jury materials, and have the case dismissed on claims of vindictive or selective prosecution.

One filing, however, focused squarely on defending the seashells prosecution itself. In that document, prosecutors argued that a jury should decide whether Comey’s Instagram post — which he described as a “cool shell formation” spotted “on [his] beach walk” with his wife, Patrice, in May 2025 — amounted to a “true threat” against a political opponent.

So far, the government has not persuaded courts that posting or displaying “86” automatically qualifies as a true threat. Still, prosecutors contend the circumstances surrounding Comey’s post make this case different.

Comey’s lawyers have pushed back sharply, arguing that the administration’s reading of “86” runs contrary to dictionary definitions, as well as “context, precedent, and common sense.” They also filed an affidavit from a former mob prosecutor who said “there is literally no support for the central allegation on which the case rests.”

The government, in response, said U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan can “easily” reject Comey’s effort to “short-circuit these proceedings,” insisting that “[w]hether Comey’s post constitutes a true threat depends entirely on the sharply disputed factual context.”

That question belongs before a jury, the DOJ argued. Prosecutors said the relevant context includes Comey’s novel “FDR Drive,” which was “only five days from public release” when he shared the seashell photo.

The DOJ turned to an excerpt from the book in which a character described the concept of “stochastic terrorism” by way of a “charismatic leader [who] jacks people up but, through the wonder of the internet, avoids a direct connection to what comes next.”

Comey is just such a leader, the Trump DOJ said.

“On May 15, 2025, a charismatic leader named James Comey, through the wonder of the internet, posted a coded message to his followers meaning ‘kill’ or ‘get rid of’ (a euphemism for ‘kill’) President Trump. Comey has acknowledged taking the picture of the seashells on May 15,” the filing said. “To be sure, Comey’s account suggests any similarity between his conduct and his novel are coincidental.”

But because the “heart of this case is a dispute over what that context means,” the DOJ said, “[o]nly a jury can resolve” it.

“Rather than argue the phrase has a single objective meaning, [Comey] acknowledges that ’86’ has at least ‘in more recent times’ and ‘on isolated occasions’ been used to mean ‘to kill.’ And of course, Comey himself previously admitted that ‘some folks associate those numbers with violence’ after deleting his post,” the opposition filing said, claiming it would be “exceedingly odd” for the judge to toss the case “without the government having ever had the opportunity to present evidence of that context to substantiate its allegation of a true threat.”

After he deleted the post, Comey also said in an appearance on the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that he and his wife thought “8647” was a “clever political message” protected by the First Amendment.

“You know what I think it is, I think it is a reference to restaurants when you ’86’ something in a restaurant,” Patrice said, according to her husband.

The post Trump DOJ says ‘charismatic leader’ James Comey’s ‘eerily on-the-nose novel’ shows jury must decide if seashells were ‘coded message’ to kill president first appeared on Law & Crime.