Nationally, the Justice Department’s prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey has become a test of how the Trump administration explains politically sensitive charging decisions. The latest filing, lodged in federal court in eastern North Carolina on August 19, 2026, narrows that debate to who made the decision to bring the “8647” case and what evidence prosecutors say supports it. For North Carolina, the filing places the state’s federal prosecutor’s office at the center of one of the country’s highest-profile criminal cases.
DOJ says Ellis Boyle made the charging decision in North Carolina
The Justice Department said in a court filing this week that Ellis Boyle, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, decided to pursue the criminal case against Comey over a 2025 social media post showing seashells arranged as “8647.” Prosecutors wrote that no one “ordered or even suggested” Boyle seek the indictment, according to the filing described by the Associated Press and CNN. The filing was submitted Tuesday night, August 18, and reported publicly on August 19.
Prosecutors said Boyle did not discuss the charging decision with Attorney General Todd Blanche until the day before the matter went to the grand jury, and said that notice was given so department leadership would be aware of possible publicity. That point is central to the department’s effort to rebut Comey’s argument that he was targeted because of Trump’s past statements and Blanche’s public support for the case. AP reported the government called that narrative “simply false” in its filings.
The filing also gives the government’s most developed account yet of why it says the post can be prosecuted as a threat. Prosecutors argued there is “no serious dispute” that an objective viewer could interpret “8647” as meaning “kill President Trump,” and they said Comey acted at least recklessly in posting it to roughly 200,000 Instagram followers, with wider distribution through reposts. AP reported those arguments were part of motions opposing Comey’s bid to dismiss the case.
The case is pending in the Eastern District of North Carolina, making the state the formal venue for the prosecution because the seashell image was posted from a North Carolina beach, according to prior reporting on the indictment. That has given the district’s U.S. attorney’s office an unusually visible role in a case involving a former FBI director and a sitting president. Boyle also appeared publicly with Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel when the indictment was announced in April, according to CNN’s reporting summarized in the reference material.
What remains unclear is how much of the broader investigative work was conducted in North Carolina versus Washington, and the Justice Department has not publicly released a fuller case file laying out each agency’s role. The public filings described by AP focus on the charging decision, legal arguments and the government’s interpretation of the post, but they do not provide a comprehensive timeline for every investigative step. They also do not resolve Comey’s broader claim that the case reflects political pressure rather than ordinary prosecutorial judgment.
The North Carolina connection is significant because the filing seeks to show the decision was localized and prosecutor-driven, not handed down by senior political appointees. That matters for the defense motion now before the court, which argues the case should be thrown out as vindictive. As of August 19, the court had not ruled on that dismissal request, based on the reporting available from AP.
In explaining the case, prosecutors relied on slang usage, audience reach and security context rather than the image alone. AP reported the filing said an objective viewer could understand “86” as a coded call to get rid of or kill someone, while Comey has disputed that reading and denied threatening Trump. The government also pointed to the speed and scale of online distribution, arguing the meaning and risk of the post must be evaluated in the modern social media environment.
The filing discussed evidence beyond dictionaries, including a message from Comey’s wife sent minutes before the post that referenced a definition of “86” meaning “to get rid of,” as CNN reported. Prosecutors also cited comments tied to publicity around Comey’s fiction book release, saying the virality of the post intersected with promotion. Those details are part of the government’s effort to show knowledge of the phrase’s possible meaning and awareness of the attention it would receive.
For residents following the case from North Carolina, the immediate takeaway is procedural rather than practical: the state’s federal court remains the forum for a nationally watched prosecution, and the next major step is the judge’s response to Comey’s dismissal bid. The Justice Department is also tying its argument to a broader security backdrop, citing recent threats and attempts against Trump, including an alleged July 8, 2026, Iranian missile attack targeting Air Force One that prosecutors referenced in court. The case now turns on whether the court accepts the government’s explanation of intent, authorship and authority.