The slogan “86 47,” popularized by former FBI Director James Comey, made an appearance during several May Day demonstrations this year.
Images captured by Fox News Digital in cities like New York and Los Angeles revealed protestors wielding signs emblazoned with “86 47.” Among them was a particularly striking banner reading, “86 the whole regime.”
This week, Comey faced a second indictment from the Justice Department. The charges seemingly stem from his May 2025 Instagram post, which depicted seashells arranged in the controversial “86 47” formation on a beach.
In restaurant lingo, “86” is a term used to signify the removal or cancellation of something. Meanwhile, Donald Trump holds the distinction of being the 47th president.
An activist was seen during a May Day march in Los Angeles on Friday, May 1, 2026, carrying a sign prominently displaying “86 47.” (Credit: Fox News Digital)
According to the indictment, Comey is accused of “knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of, or inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States” and of “knowingly and willfully transmitting a communication in interstate and foreign commerce that contained a threat to kill President Donald Trump.”
Both charges, released Tuesday by the DOJ, carry up to 10 years in prison. The move follows a wave of criticism from Republicans and Trump administration officials who viewed Comey’s post as a veiled threat.
Activists participate in a May Day march in New York City, Friday, May 1, 2026. (Fox News Digital)
May Day Strong, which was the main organizer of Friday’s demonstrations, described them as “workers, students, and families” rallying, marching and taking action “across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping.”
An activist carries a sign with “86 47” written on it at the May Day march in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, May 1, 2026. (LB for Fox News Digital)
May Day’s roots trace back to the 19th century, when Marxists, socialists and labor unions called for a day of strikes in Paris and later became a national holiday in the Soviet Union after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
While May Day began as an effort to protect worker rights, the big-money political operations of labor unions today give the protest a partisan bias that is focused very much today on anti-Trump rhetoric, critics say. Approximately 600 groups with $2 billion in active annual revenues were slated to host an estimated 6,000 events nationwide for pro-socialist May Day demonstrations on Friday, a Fox News Digital investigation found.
Comey’s May 2025 Instagram post showed the numbers “86 47” arranged in shells on a beach.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk…,” Comey captioned the post. It was later deleted.
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