{"id":1351,"date":"2026-05-30T16:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T16:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1351"},"modified":"2026-05-30T16:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T16:05:07","slug":"us-attorney-seeks-new-lead-prosecutor-in-comey-seashell-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1351","title":{"rendered":"US attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Just over a month after indicting former FBI Director James Comey, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in North Carolina is seeking to replace the lead prosecutor in the case.<\/p>\n

Read more Spencer Pratt Responds to Hannah Einbinder After Comedian Slams His Campaign<\/a><\/p>\n

A Friday court filing offers no explanation for the office\u2019s request to withdraw Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Petracca, who has served as lead prosecutor since the indictment was returned in April.<\/p>\n

The filing asks that Petracca be withdrawn from the case and replaced by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo, who will now likely prosecute the case<\/a> for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the federal Eastern District of North Carolina.<\/a> U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle, who was appointed under President Donald Trump\u2019s administration and confirmed by the U.S. Senate<\/a> earlier this month, leads the office.<\/p>\n

Boyle\u2019s office didn\u2019t immediately respond to questions sent by The News & Observer about the change.<\/p>\n

The move comes in a high-profile case that has drawn national attention and follows recent departures or reassignments of prosecutors in several other criminal cases involving people who have clashed with Trump.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, The N&O asked Boyle about critics\u2019 assertions that Trump-era prosecutors are improperly using the federal courts to serve the president\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would suggest that the people suggesting that have no clue what\u2019s going on in this office, and it\u2019s just categorically false,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Boyle also said<\/a> he would never pressure or force any of his employees to prosecute charges they believed were improper.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if I tried, they wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cSo I\u2019m not that worried about it, but I haven\u2019t and I wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, Boyle\u2019s office sent out a news release<\/a> outlining 20 threat-related cases the office in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office has or is prosecuting. The cases stretch back to 2022 and range from threats against the presidents to individuals.<\/p>\n

Read more Raleigh police make arrest in 2001 sexual assault case. Here\u2019s how they did it.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThese cases involve threats intended to intimidate, disrupt government operations, or make victims fear for their safety,\u201d the news release from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office states.<\/p>\n

The next major deadline in the case is July 28, when pretrial motions are due. Comey\u2019s arraignment, a hearing in which he would plead guilty or not guilty, is set for Sept. 30 at the federal courthouse in New Bern.<\/p>\n

The case stems from a May 2025 Instagram post in which Comey shared a photo of seashells arranged to read \u201c86 47\u201d that he said he found on a North Carolina beach.<\/p>\n

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines 86 as an informal term meaning to refuse service to a customer, remove an item from a menu, or otherwise get rid of something.<\/p>\n

Trump, the 47th president, has said 86 is a term used by mobsters to refer to killing someone. Comey has said he did not intend the post as a threat and removed it after learning others interpreted it that way.<\/p>\n

A North Carolina grand jury indicted<\/a> Comey on April 28 on two felony charges: threatening the president and transmitting a threat across state lines. Each charge carries up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

The prosecution tests where courts draw the line between protected political speech and what federal law defines as a valid threat. Comey\u2019s attorneys are expected to aggressively challenge the charges, including with motions accusing prosecutors of selective or vindictive prosecution.<\/p>\n

Comey\u2019s team filed a similar motion after a September 2025 indictment in Virginia accused him of lying to Congress about leaks to the press. That case was dismissed two months later when a federal judge ruled that the interim U.S. attorney who obtained the indictment had been unlawfully appointed.<\/p>\n

Read more After multiple delays, Raleigh\u2019s Downtown South is progressing. What\u2019s in store<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 9:51 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are seeking to replace the lead prosecutor in the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nUS attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1351\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are seeking to replace the lead prosecutor in the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1351\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-30T16:05:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1351#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1351\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"US attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T16:05:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1351\"},\"wordCount\":676,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1351#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/eba7509c4df8039271fd9c896db99d03.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1351#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1351\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=1351\",\"name\":\"US attorney seeks new lead prosecutor in Comey seashell case - 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