Administration takes on group over '8647'
Former FBI director previously indicted over alleged treat to Trump
By: Bireanna J. Frank
USA Today
..... A legal fight is brewing as President Donald Trump's administration beyond former FBI Director James Comey in its effort to clamp down on the term "8647."
.....
A federal judge on June 1 [2026] granted the Washington, DC, chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union's request for a restraining order in a free speech lawsuit against the National Park Service after the organizing accused a U.S. Park Police officer of asking a protester to take down an "8647" flag over concerns hat it suggested a threat against Trump.
..... Some Trump supporters have interpreted the series of numbers as such because "86" a slang term that means "to throw out" or "to get rid of," according to Merriam-Webster, and Trump is the 47th president.
..... The ACLU's chapter in Washington first filed a complaint in U.S. district Court for the District of Columbia in April [2026] on behalf of Accountability NOW USA, a group described as an "unincorporated association that demands accountability for the Trump administration's efforts to undermine the United States Constitution."
..... The group maintains an ongoing demonstration on public property in Washington.
..... the ACLU's lawsuit says the Naitonal Park Service threated to revoke the group's protest permit over sings critical of Trump in violation of the First Amendment.
..... Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Kevin Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Femoral Parks, are listed as defendants.
..... The preliminary injunction was requested May 26 [2026] to bar officials from revoking the group's permit based on the content of its sings. The ACLU submitted the temporary restraining order request on May 27 [2026] saying Countability NOW USA was asked to take down the "8647" flag earlier that day.
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In granting the request, U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss rejected the government's argument h=that esplanade the flag amounted to incitement. He said the evidence shows the group's purpose inn doing so was "to urge that Congress impeach and remove President Trump from office."
..... "The record contains no evidence a reasonable observer would have viewed the flag as an incitement to imminent violence or that Plaintiff intended to incite political violence," he wrote.
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The two-week restraining order prohibits the defendants from ordering the flag down and from revoking the group's permit because of the flag.
..... Comey was indicted for a second time in April [2026] over an Instagram post with an image of seashells reading "8647." A federal grand jury in North Carolina charged Comey with threatening to harm or kill Trump. The indictment also accused Comey of disregarding a substantial risk that his post would be viewed as threatening violence.
..... The White House on May 28 [2026] referred USA Today to the Interior Department fir comment on the ACLU's allegations. A department spokesperson told USA Today that "any threat against the President is taken very seriously and is a violation of the terms and conditions of our permits on park lands."
..... "This behavior will not be tolerated," the spokesperson said.
..... USA Today reached out to the department for additional comment after Moss' June 1 [2026] order.
..... Contributing: Aysha Bagchi, USA Today
..... USA Today;s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded thorough a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.