Comey’s seashell defense—is it a true threat? catherinecrump shorts firstamendment fbi [4L6DVOd957i]
Can a photo of seashells be a federal death threat? A jury may never get to decide. This week, lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment charging him with threatening President Trump’s life — based on a May 2025 photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47,” captioned “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” In this episode, I explain the “true threat” doctrine: why the First Amendment protects even ugly political hyperbole, what the Supreme Court said in 1969 about a draft protester who talked about getting President Johnson in his rifle sights (Watts v. United States), and the government's strongest card — that whether a message is threatening is normally a question for a jury, not a judge on a motion to dismiss. When Comey was indicted, I said no one could seriously believe a shell photo was a true threat. Now that claim gets tested in court. Watch the original episode here: