{"id":2609433,"date":"2026-06-02T08:13:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-allows-86-47-flag-to-be-used-by-dc-protesters\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:14:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:14:22","slug":"judge-allows-86-47-flag-to-be-used-by-dc-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-allows-86-47-flag-to-be-used-by-dc-protesters\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge allows \u201886 47\u2019 flag to be used by DC protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-allows-86-47-flag-to-be-used-by-dc-protesters%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2609433&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that protesters near the U.S. Capitol who displayed a flag reading \u201c86 47\u201d were engaging in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rnc-fires-back-at-trump-says-it-has-every-right-to-use-his-name\/\" title=\"RNC Fires Back at Trump, Says It Has \u2018Every Right\u2019 to Use His Name\">protected political speech<\/a> rather than making a threat against President Donald Trump. Judge Randolph Moss sided with Accountability Now USA, which has held a 24\/7 protest calling for Trump\u2019s impeachment and said officials repeatedly pressured them over months to remove the flag and othre signs.<\/p>\n<p>the \u201c86\u201d and \u201c47\u201d references have been interpreted by the trump governance and Justice department as potentially violent-\u201c86\u201d is a slang term that can mean to kill, while \u201c47\u201d is viewed as a reference to Trump as the 47th president. Moss rejected that framing, noting \u201c86\u201d originated in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/comeys-8647-message-concerns-white-house-and-prompts-dhs-investigation-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Comey\u2019s \u20188647\u2019 message \u2018concerns\u2019 White House and prompts DHS investigation - ... Examiner\">1930s soda-counter slang meaning<\/a> to refuse service or get rid of, and that dictionaries generally do not define it as violent.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling followed additional related legal activity involving former FBI Director james Comey, who was indicted on charges tied to an Instagram post featuring seashells arranged as \u201c86 47,\u201d and broader appearances of the numbers around Washington. court records also describe other disputes at the protest, including demands-reportedly from the National park Service and Secret Service-to remove certain signs, with the Secret Service asking whether the \u201c86 47\u201d flag was meant as a threat.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal judge in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/district-of-columbia\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1483\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, ruled Monday that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/protesters\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11455\">protesters<\/a> displaying a flag bearing the message \u201c86 47\u201d near the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/us-capitol\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1408\">U.S. Capitol<\/a> were engaging in protected political speech and not making a threat against President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, who was appointed by former President<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"360\"> Barack Obama<\/a>, sided with Accountability Now USA, an advocacy group that has maintained a round-the-clock protest near the Capitol calling for Trump\u2019s impeachment. The ruling came after members of the group said they were repeatedly pressured by law enforcement officials over several months to remove the flag and other signs.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4590669\/judge-allows-8647-flag-used-protesters\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge allows \u20188647\u2019 flag to be used by protesters<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4586652\/trump-250-pardons-lobbying\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>High-profile convicts lobby for rumored Trump pardons ahead of 250th anniversary<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4590247\/trump-anti-weaponization-fund-senate-opposition\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump retreats from anti-weaponization fund in rare setback as GOP pushes budget bill<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision arrives as a separate legal case unfolds involving former FBI Director <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-comey\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"169\">James Comey<\/a>, who was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4581894\/judge-allows-james-comey-delay-86-47-seashells-trial\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4581894\/judge-allows-james-comey-delay-86-47-seashells-trial\/\">indicted on charges<\/a> of threatening the president after posting an Instagram photo showing seashells arranged to form the numbers \u201c86 47.\u201d The same numbers have also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4551338\/lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-8647\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4551338\/lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-8647\/\">appeared painted<\/a> on Washington\u2019s Reflecting Pool in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> has argued that \u201c86,\u201d a term commonly used in restaurants to indicate an item should be removed or is unavailable, can also be interpreted as slang for killing someone. The number \u201c47\u201d is understood as a reference to Trump, as the nation\u2019s 47th president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his opinion, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.291681\/gov.uscourts.dcd.291681.20.0.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.291681\/gov.uscourts.dcd.291681.20.0.pdf\">Moss wrote<\/a> that \u201c86\u201d originated in \u201c1930s soda-counter slang\u201d and historically meant to \u201cthrow out,\u201d \u201crefuse service,\u201d or \u201cget rid of\u201d someone or something. He noted that dictionary references have generally not adopted a violent definition because of its relatively recent and infrequent usage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Accountability Now USA obtained a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/national-park-service\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"190\">National Park Service<\/a> permit in April to demonstrate near the George Gordon Meade Memorial, just blocks from the Capitol and the National Mall. According to court filings, the group plans to renew the permit when it expires in August.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Members of the organization described several contentious encounters with officials from the<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/secret-service\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1478\"> Secret Service<\/a> and the National Park Service. They said authorities repeatedly demanded the removal of signs and suggested participants could face arrest if they refused.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One dispute centered on signs referencing Trump\u2019s association with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeffrey-epstein\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1860\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>. According to court filings, a National Park Service official informed the group that a sign stating Trump supporters \u201clove child rapists\u201d constituted unprotected obscenity and had to be removed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4551338\/lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-8647\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4551338\/lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-8647\/\">LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL VANDALIZED WITH \u201886 47\u2019 GRAFFITI AFTER TRUMP CHANGES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the group raised the \u201c86 47\u201d flag, members said they <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >faced additional scrutiny<\/a>. Court filings state that Secret Service agents visited the protest site and asked whether the flag was intended as a threat. A volunteer responded, \u201cI want Trump to live forever and rot in jail where he belongs,\u201d after which the agents left.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department argued that the government has a \u201cstrong public and governmental interest\u201d in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/terry-mcauliffe-panics-when-asked-to-define-critical-race-theory-calls-concerned-parents-racist\/\" title=\"Terry McAuliffe Panics When Asked To Define Critical Race Theory, Calls Concerned Parents Racist\">investigating potential threats<\/a> against the president, even when those threats ultimately prove unfounded. According to court filings, the Secret Service has investigated more than 1,300 instances of individuals using the phrase \u201c86-47,\u201d most of them in online posts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington D.C. judge says \u201c86 47\u201d flag is protected speech, not a Trump threat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4195,"featured_media":2609434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Feat.Tushnet3.060326.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33740,80673,33332,6867,50433],"class_list":["post-2609433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-court-ruling","tag-dc-protesters","tag-first-amendment","tag-flag","tag-judge-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Feat.Tushnet3.060326.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2609433"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2609437,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609433\/revisions\/2609437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2609434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2609433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2609433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2609433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}