Lead Prosecutor in Comey Seashells Case Steps Aside — A Former Republican Committeeman With No Federal Criminal Experience

Matthew Petracca, the lead federal prosecutor in the case against former FBI Director James Comey over an Instagram photo of seashells arranged to spell "86 47," has stepped off the case, according to a court filing. He also dropped off other criminal cases in the Eastern District of North Carolina in recent days. According to two people familiar with the matter, Petracca contemplated leaving the Justice Department entirely and took a week off before deciding to remain a DOJ employee — just not on this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo is now heading the Comey prosecution.

To understand why this matters, you need to understand who Petracca is — and how a Medicaid fraud lawyer from New Jersey ended up prosecuting the former director of the FBI for posting a picture of shells on a beach.

Who is Matthew Petracca

• A former Republican county committeeman and city councilman in Lincoln Park, New Jersey (population ~11,000)
• Graduated from Seton Hall Law School in 2007
• Practiced family law in New Jersey
• Moved to North Carolina, worked as a Medicaid fraud prosecutor for the state AG's office
• Was hired by U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle months before the indictment
• Had picked up only a handful of other cases in the district
• No significant federal criminal prosecution experience

This is the man the Justice Department chose to prosecute the former director of the FBI on charges that legal scholars across the political spectrum — including conservative Jonathan Turley — call unconstitutional.

How he ended up as the last man standing

Petracca wasn't the first choice. He wasn't the second. He got the case because everyone more experienced left:

1. The original investigation into the seashells post was opened in mid-2025 and handled by experienced prosecutors
2. Those prosecutors were loaned to Virginia to work on separate (and stronger) charges against Comey for lying to Congress
3. The Virginia case was dismissed by a judge who ruled the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed
4. The experienced prosecutors returned to North Carolina but left the office for private practice shortly after — before the seashells case went to the grand jury
5. Petracca — the rookie Medicaid fraud lawyer hired months earlier — was the only one left

The more experienced prosecutors saw what they were being asked to do and walked away. Petracca stayed.

How the case got rammed through

Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi didn't want this case. She concluded the Virginia charges were "significantly stronger" and pushed to pursue those instead. The seashells case was on the back burner.

Then Trump fired Bondi and installed Todd Blanche as acting AG. Blanche — reportedly seeking to impress Trump and secure a permanent appointment — ordered U.S. Attorney Boyle to seek a grand jury indictment. Boyle and Petracca obtained one on April 28, 2026.

The sequence: the experienced prosecutors left. The AG who thought the case was weak was fired. The new AG — Trump's former personal lawyer — ordered the indictment. And the man who signed it was a rookie Republican committeeman from New Jersey prosecuting Medicaid fraud a year ago.

The case itself

The charges: that Comey threatened to harm or kill the president by posting a photo of seashells spelling "86 47" on Instagram. The post was up briefly before Comey deleted it and said he didn't know "86" could be interpreted as a call for violence.

Legal experts from across the political spectrum have called the case hopeless:

• Jonathan Turley (conservative legal scholar): "This indictment is unconstitutional and will not likely survive constitutional challenge"
• The Cato Institute: Called it a "shakedown" and a line-drawing exercise that criminalizes protected speech
• Ken White (former federal prosecutor, Popehat): Called the indictment "a grave embarrassment to the United States Department of Justice and the Rule of Law"
• Current Supreme Court precedent requires prosecutors to prove actual intent to threaten — not just that someone could interpret a seashell photo as threatening

The trial has been delayed to October 21. Comey's lawyers plan to move for dismissal on constitutional and selective prosecution grounds.

What Petracca's departure means

Petracca stepping aside continues a pattern: every prosecutor who has touched this case has either left, been reassigned, or walked away. The experienced prosecutors left for private practice. The Virginia prosecutor was ruled unlawfully appointed. Now the rookie who signed the indictment is gone too.

The T-shirts

There are scores of T-shirts, hats, buttons, bumper stickers, and posters for sale that read "8647" — including some made with seashells. When asked on CBS whether anyone else had been investigated for using the same phrase, acting AG Blanche said he had "no idea" whether other uses of the phrase were investigated.

The DOJ indicted a former FBI director for posting a photo that you can buy on a T-shirt on Amazon. The acting AG doesn't know whether anyone else has been investigated for the same expression. Because no one has. Because it is not a crime. Because this prosecution exists for one reason: Trump said "Comey is a dirty cop" and wants him punished.

The verdict of the prosecutors themselves

The DOJ is prosecuting the former FBI director for posting a picture of seashells on the internet. The case was too weak for Pam Bondi. The experienced prosecutors quit rather than bring it. A judge dismissed the first attempt. Legal scholars across the spectrum call it unconstitutional. The lead prosecutor contemplated quitting the Justice Department entirely and stepped off the case after taking a week off.

At some point, the fact that no one is willing to put their name on this case is the case.