Beyond Comey, Trump administration takes on DC group over '8647'

Source: USA Today

Beyond Comey, Trump administration takes on DC group over '8647'

BrieAnna J. Frank
USA TODAY
Updated June 1, 2026, 3:46 p.m. ET

A legal fight is brewing as President Donald Trump's administration goes beyond former FBI Director James Comey in its effort to clamp down on the term "8647."

A federal judge on June 1 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 organization alleged a U.S. Park Police officer asked a protester to take down an "8647" flagover concerns that it suggested a threat against Trump.

Some Trump supporters have interpreted the series of numbers as such because "86" is a slang term that means "to throw out" or "to get rid of," according to Merriam-Webster, and Trump is the 47th U.S. president.

The ACLU's Washington, DC, chapter first filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in April 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, DC.

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Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/06/01/judge-blocks-feds-removing-dc-protest-8647-flag/90300272007/