Lead Prosecutor Replaced in James Comey Seashell Photograph Case

The Justice Department filed notice with the court on Friday evening that Matthew Petracca, a prosecutor from the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of North Carolina, had been replaced by assistant US attorney Timothy Severo in the federal criminal case against James Comey.

The court filing did not include any explanation for the prosecutor change. A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.

James Comey was indicted in North Carolina in April 2026 over a photograph he posted last year of seashells arranged in the numbers “86 47” on a North Carolina beach. The Justice Department says the “86 47” post amounts to a threat against Trump, the 47th US president. Comey faces two counts of threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. In response to the indictment, Comey posted a video to his personal Substack. “Well, they’re back,” he said in the video. “This time, about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago.

And this won’t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me. I am still innocent. I am still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. ” Comey’s trial is set to begin on 21 October in North Carolina.

The latest charges arrived months after the failure of an effort by the Justice Department to prosecute Comey for allegedly lying to Congress. That indictment was tossed out by a federal judge in Virginia who ruled that the prosecutor overseeing the case had been wrongfully appointed.

Former prosecutors have said that the latest charges against Comey are weaker than the earlier ones and speak to acting attorney general Todd Blanche’s ambition to quickly meet Trump’s desires.

Blanche was tapped to lead the DoJ following the firing of attorney general Pam Bondi. ” Legal experts also argued that the second indictment of Comey, a top target of Donald Trump in his quest for revenge against critics, suggests more charges could be coming against other Trump opponents as the president continues to use the Department of Justice to attack perceived political enemies.

Trump’s grievances with Comey date back to the president’s first term, when he led the bureau’s counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia.

Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017, four years into his 10-year term.