前美国联邦调查局(FBI)局长詹姆斯・科米的辩护律师向法院提交法律动议，申请撤销针对科米的刑事起诉书。案件起因是科米在照片社交平台 Instagram 发布一张贝壳拼图照片，贝壳排列组成数字 “8647”。联邦检察官认定，这条帖文构成针对总统唐纳德・特朗普的生命威胁。
检方于今年 4 月正式提起指控，涉案帖文发布于 2025 年 5 月，现已被删除。科米律师在法律文书中写道：“这份起诉书打击的言论，受《第一修正案》核心条款保护。”
诉状材料说明：“科米先生长期公开发声批评特朗普总统。他发布的照片里，贝壳拼出‘86 47’。这是广为流传的政治标语，用来表达对现任总统的反对。事实上，印有这句标语的商品在互联网上大量售卖，时至今日依然随处可见;在科米发布帖文前数月，全国各地的抗议活动中也经常出现该标语。”
这份动议是科米法律团队一系列诉讼行动的一环，目的是争取在开庭审判前直接撤销案件。律师指责司法部专门针对科米下手 —— 仅仅因为这位总统最知名的批评者转发、传播带有反对立场的政治标语，就要遭到刑事起诉。
律师写道：“试图压制核心政治言论，既违反相关成文法律，也违背《第一修正案》。”
科米坚决否认这条帖文意在威胁特朗普。下个月，北卡罗来纳州联邦法院将举行传讯听证，预计科米届时会作出无罪答辩。
辩护文书指出：“仅仅因为发表反对总统的言论，就要迫使科米接受庭审，即便最终被判无罪，这本身就是违宪地惩罚言论自由。此举还会开创先例，未来行政部门可以随意起诉那些被视作政敌、公开反对总统的民众。已有政府官员公开警告，如果民众效仿科米发布同类‘政治表态’，将会遭到追责。”
科米律师在周一提交的动议中披露：这名前 FBI 局长删除帖子之后，主动联系当地警察局长，告知外界围绕这条帖文产生的争议;另据美国广播公司此前报道，科米还同意接受特勤局特工问询。
美国最高法院确立过严格司法标准，只有构成“真实威胁”才不受言论自由保护。辩方据此主张，这条照片帖文远远达不到法定认定标准。检察官没有拿出证据，证明科米主观上打算实施暴力行为。
辩方同时援引特朗普近期公开言论进行对比，称总统部分表态更容易煽动针对政敌的暴力。例如特朗普今年早些时候声称，有议员发布视频鼓动军人拒绝执行非法命令，这类行为属于可判处死刑的 “叛国罪”。
James Comey files motion seeking dismissal of seashell indictment
Former FBI Director James Comey's attorneys have filed a motion seeking the dismissal of the indictment charging Comey for posting a picture on his Instagram account of seashells spelling out "8647," which federal prosecutors sayconstituted a threatagainst President Donald Trump's life.
"This indictment targets protected speech at the heart of the First Amendment," Comey's attorneys said in their filing, regarding the chargesannounced in Aprilover the since-deleted Instagram post from May 2025.
"Mr. Comey, an outspoken critic of President Trump, posted a photograph of seashells spelling out '86 47,' a well-known political slogan that expresses opposition to the President," the filing said. "In fact, thousands of items featuring this slogan have been sold on the internet and are available to this day, and the slogan was commonly displayed at protests around the country in the months preceding Mr. Comey's post."
The filing, one of a series of anticipated efforts by Comey's legal team to have his case thrown out before trial, accuses the Justice Department ofsingling out Comey"to prosecute one of the President's most prominent critics for publishing another person's statement of political opposition."
"That attempt to suppress core political speech contravenes both the statutes at issue and the First Amendment," Comey's attorneys wrote.
Comey has vigorously denied his post was ever intended as a threat against Trump and is expected to plead not guilty in an arraignment scheduled for next month in North Carolina.
"Forcing Mr. Comey to stand trial for a statement opposing the President -- even if he is ultimately acquitted -- would itself be an unconstitutional punishment of free speech," the filing said. "And it would invite future prosecutions by the Executive Branch against perceived political enemies for their opposition to the President. Government officials have already warned that they plan to target citizens if they 'copycat' Mr. Comey's 'political statement.'"
In their motion Monday, Comey's attorneys revealed that after the former FBI director deleted his post, he contacted the local police chief "to notify him about the controversy over the post" and, as ABC News previously reported, agreed to be interviewed by Secret Service agents.
In making their argument that the post falls well short of the high legal bar to constitute a "true threat" as the Supreme Court has defined it, Comey's lawyers claimed that prosecutors have provided no evidence to support the necessary standard showing Comey himself intended to engage in a violent act.
They also pointed to recent statements made by President Trump that they argue go much farther in potentially inciting violence against his political enemies, including Trump's claim earlier this year that the lawmakers who posted the video urging service members to disobey unlawful ordersamounted to "treason"that was "punishable by death."
