A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled on June 2, 2026, that protesters displaying a flag with the message '8647' near the U.S. Capitol are engaging in protected political speech, rather than making a threat against President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss sided with Accountability Now USA, an advocacy group that has been protesting near the Capitol and calling for Trump's impeachment. The ruling followed reports of pressure from law enforcement on the group to remove the flag and other signs.
The decision comes amid a separate legal case involving former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted on charges of threatening the president after posting an Instagram photo with seashells arranged to form the numbers '8647.' The Trump administration has argued that '86' can be interpreted as slang for killing someone, while '47' refers to Trump as the nation's 47th president.
Judge Moss noted in his opinion that '86' originated from 1930s soda-counter slang, meaning to 'throw out' or 'refuse service,' and that violent interpretations are not widely recognized in dictionary references. Accountability Now USA obtained a National Park Service permit to demonstrate near the George Gordon Meade Memorial and plans to renew it when it expires in August.
Members of the organization reported contentious encounters with officials from the Secret Service and National Park Service, including demands to remove signs. One dispute involved a sign referencing Trump's association with Jeffrey Epstein, which officials deemed unprotected obscenity. After the group raised the '8647' flag, they faced scrutiny from Secret Service agents, who inquired if the flag was intended as a threat. A volunteer responded that they wanted Trump to 'live forever and rot in jail where he belongs.' The Justice Department has stated a strong interest in investigating potential threats against the president, with over 1,300 instances of individuals using the phrase '86-47' being investigated, mostly in online posts.
