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WASHINGTON — <\/span>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Former FBI Director James Comey<\/a> on Thursday asked to cancel his upcoming court appearance<\/a> in North Carolina, saying it was unnecessary because he already surrendered in Virginia and gone before a judge for allegedly threatening President Donald Trump<\/a>. The Department of Justice is supporting the request.<\/p>\n Comey was charged in a two-count indictment last week with \u201cknowingly and willfully” communicating a threat against Trump by posting an Instagram photo of seashells in the numerical arrangement of \u201c86 47.\u201d<\/p>\n Prosecutors allege the photo constituted a threat against Trump, the 47th president. Comey has said he assumed the seashell arrangement, which he says he found on a beach, reflected a political message \u2014 not a call to violence \u2014 and that he removed the post once he saw that some people were interpreting it as a threat.<\/p>\n He is currently set to appear Monday in a federal court in Greenville, North Carolina, but his lawyers urged a judge on Thursday to cancel that appearance. They noted that he had surrendered and appeared before a judge in Virginia, where he lives, and that the Justice Department has consented to their request.<\/p>\n The case is the second against Comey, a longtime perceived adversary of the Republican president, brought by Trump’s Justice Department. An earlier unrelated prosecution accusing Comey<\/a> of making a false statement to Congress was dismissed by a judge who concluded that the prosecutor who filed the case was illegally appointed.<\/p>\n Legal experts have questioned whether the Justice Department can meet the high legal standard of proving that Comey intended his Instagram post to be a threat. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said investigators have evidence beyond just the post itself. He has not elaborated.<\/p>\n Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang<\/a> meaning \u201cto throw out,\u201d \u201cto get rid of\u201d or \u201cto refuse service to.\u201d It notes: \u201cAmong the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of \u2018to kill.\u2019 We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n