President Donald Trump has threatened severe punishment for whoever carved a giant “8647” into the lawn of the National Mall. The unusual marking sits near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The latter authorities say it has also suffered deliberate damage just weeks after its multi-million-dollar renovation.
Donald Trump issues new warning over ‘8647’ message
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said federal prosecutors would fully enforce a decade-long prison term against anyone caught destroying or defacing such landmarks. He described a scene of multiple attacks on the site.
Alongside the chemically etched numbers in the grass, Trump said the Reflecting Pool had been “given a 300 foot long gash” and that unknown individuals had “illegally placed” chemicals in the water. He specifically connected the “8647” carving to former FBI Director James Comey, writing that the act was “Probably inspired by Dirty Cop, James Comey!”
The president used his post to underline the penalties at stake. “Please remember that there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” he wrote.
The National Park Service and federal investigators are now running parallel probes into two incidents on the Mall. One focuses on the Reflecting Pool. The other tracks the appearance of “8647” carved into browned turf on June 11. Officers have collected grass samples for testing, but have not named any suspects.
The number sequence has spread as an anti-Trump slogan over recent months. It fuses restaurant shorthand “86” — meaning to remove or cancel something — with “47,” a nod to Trump being the 47th president. The phrase first gained attention through a 2025 social media post showing seashells arranged to spell out those digits. That image later surfaced in a Justice Department case involving Comey, who got indicted for it. Federal officials have at times treated the slogan as a potential threat to the president. It has been scrutinised by civil liberties lawyers.
