A D.C. judge has shot down law enforcement attempts to stop protesters displaying a sequence of numbers the Trump administration insists represent a threat against the president’s life.
Justice Randolph D. Moss, a Barack Obama appointee, ruled Monday that police could not force Accountability Now USA, a protest group, to stop displaying flags and signs bearing the slogan “86-47” because it amounts to free speech protected by the Constitution, the New York Times reported.
The White House has repeatedly claimed that the number “86” suggests a desire to kill Trump, who as the 47th president of the United States is represented by the number “47” in the phrase.
Neither Moss nor Merriam-Webster was having any of it.
Moss referred to the dicitonary’s definition of “86” as a term harking back to “1930s soda-counter slang,” meaning only to “throw out” or “to get rid of” something, with no suggestion of any violence.
Accountability Now USA has kept up a round-the-clock demonstration at an encampment in D.C. since April. The group has had several run-ins with law enforcement, including Secret Service officials who’ve attempted to pressure them into taking down flags and signs displaying the sequence of numbers.
A member of the group, when challenged about the phrase, is understood to have explained to agents “that I want Trump to live forever and rot in jail where he belongs,” according to court filings cited by the NYT.
Moss wrote that it was “difficult to fathom” how any “reasonable observer would view the flag as a true threat.” He stressed that “the term ‘86’ is used far more often to mean ‘throw out’ than ‘kill,’ and it appeared at a demonstration that was focused, of all things, on the constitutional impeachment and ‘removal’ of the president.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The protest collective’s court victory comes as the Justice Department pursues a separate but related legal action against former FBI director James Comey.
Comey faces charges of making a threat against the president’s life after posting a photo of “86-47” to Instagram. The image showed the numbers written out in seashells on a beach.
Comey, who deleted the post and said he hadn’t realized the numbers carried violent connotations, is due to stand trial in North Carolina this October.
The lead prosecutor abruptly withdrew from the case last week, as Comey’s lawyers signal they’ll be moving to dismiss the charges.
