The numbers “86 47” have appeared in the green grass on Washington DC’s National Mall in what appears to be a message directed at the U.S. president.

 

 

Days before Donald Trump turns 80 and a UFC match takes place in the area, new aerial photos have revealed the markings in the dying grass. It is not clear when the numbers were etched into the lawn, but they have previously been used to snub Trump. “86” is code in the hospitality industry meaning to get rid of an order or a patron. Given that Trump is the 47th US president, the rest of the message is quite clear.

 

 

An Interior Department spokesperson said: “Any threat against the president is taken very seriously by the Department, and our U.S. Park Police will investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable.”

 

 

Grass samples have been collected as part of an investigation to determine what caused the discolouration. Authorities responded to what appeared to be a large tracing of the term into the grounds of the National Mall on June 11. The arrangement of the numbers was clearly an attempt to show 8647, though the four was not fully formed. Federal prosecutors on other occasions have said the term could indicate a threat to the 47th president.

 

 

Earlier this year, former FBI director James Comey was indicted for “threatening” Trump with a photo of seashells spelling out “8647.” Comey was interviewed by the US Secret Service in May after Trump administration officials claimed he was advocating the assassination of the president.

 

 

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “86” as slang meaning “to throw out, to get rid of or to refuse service to.” It added: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill’. We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”

 

 

Comey deleted the post shortly after making it, writing: “I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence… I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down.”

 

 

Trump, in a Fox News Channel interview, accused Comey of knowing “exactly what that meant.” “A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear,” he said.

 

 

Trump has been facing increasing pressure from both inside and outside his party as the war with Iran drags on. After threatening to strike Iran “hard,” he took to Truth Social and said: “Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening.

 

 

“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.

 

 

“The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly.”