PEN America Condemns Prosecutors for Weaponizing Comey's Novel in Trump Threat Case
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PEN America denounces the Justice Department’s alarming use of James Comey’s fiction to justify criminalizing dissent, warning of a dangerous assault on First Amendment rights.
Mara Gassmann, legal director for PEN America, sharply criticized the Justice Department’s brazen reliance on a novel by former FBI director James Comey to prop up an indictment alleging a threat against President Donald Trump, calling it a “desperate Hail Mary” that must be rejected. Prosecutors, in a move reminiscent of authoritarian regimes, cited a fictional prosecutor from Comey’s book FDR Drive and a Publishers Weekly review to argue that Comey’s Instagram post of seashells spelling “8647” was a coded threat.
The government’s claim that “86” is slang for “remove,” and that the post—shared just before the novel’s release—signaled violence toward Trump, who has previously faced assassination attempts, is a gross overreach. The filing even goes so far as to suggest Comey had a financial motive to promote his novel, a baseless smear tactic.
Comey has denied the charges, explaining that he removed the post upon realizing it could be misinterpreted and reaffirming his opposition to violence. His attorneys argue that the image is protected speech, not a “true threat,” and denounce the prosecution as “vindictive and selective”—yet another example of the current administration’s crusade to punish dissent and silence critics through the legal system.
“A political message, expressed through a photo of seashells, is no true threat; now, the government’s use of Comey’s work of fiction to support this prosecution compounds the first amendment concerns,” Gassmann said.
“Extreme caution should be taken any time creative works are used to support criminal charges to protect the free expression rights of us all,” she added.
This case, a chilling example of state overreach, remains pending as Comey seeks dismissal of the indictment.