Comey seeks dismissal of Trump threat case over '8647' seashell post
What's new: His lawyers argue the post was protected political speech, not a legally actionable "true threat."
Former FBI Director James Comey asked a federal judge Monday to throw out the indictment accusing him of threatening President Donald Trump with an Instagram photo of seashells arranged as “8647.” In a filing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Comey’s lawyers argued the post is protected by the First Amendment and does not meet the legal standard for a “true threat.” Prosecutors charged Comey after saying the image threatened Trump’s life. The defense said “86 47” is a widely used anti-Trump political slogan and that no reasonable observer would read it as a threat that Comey would commit violence.