Police investigating after 86-47 etched into grass near White House
Four numbers faintly etched in the grass in a popular park near the White House are being treated as a death threat against Donald Trump.
The US Park Police are investigating after the numbers “86 47″ started to faintly appear in brown grass on the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Footage from Earthcam shows 86 47 etched onto the National Mall near the White House. Earthcam
The Trump administration has argued in the past that the numbers are a death threat against the president.
“86” is an old-fashioned slang for an item that is no longer on a diner menu, and is commonly used to mean “to throw out”.
And “47″ is often used to describe Donald Trump, as the 47th President of the United States.
It is not apparent what has caused the grass to become browner in a way that makes the numbers appear, but police are looking for a culprit.
“The deranged vandalism on our National Mall will not be tolerated,” a statement from the Department of the Interior said.
“Any threat against the President is taken very seriously by the Department, and our US Park Police will investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable.”
Donald Trump's approval ratings are currently at a near-historic low. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The area has now been roped off.
National Guard troops, police and even a fire truck was deployed to the spot, across the road from the Lincoln Reflecting Pool which Trump has recently bragged of renovating.
When a suspect is identified, the Secret Service will be involved in the investigation.
“Anyone who engages in or endorses political violence or assassination culture must be condemned in the harshest terms possible,” a White House spokesperson told CNN.
The numbers are not clearly visible from the ground but appear faintly when viewed from the air.
The graffiti is forming between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The spot is in direct view of the White House.
In the other direction, the National Mall extends down to the US Capitol.
The numbers are at the centre of a high-profile case against former FBI Director James Comey.
Comey posted a photo on his Instagram account showing a series of seashells and pebbles spelling out the numbers “86 47” on the sand.
The image from an Instagram post below which Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk”. Instagram/@Comey
Comey said he did not arrange the shells, but took the photo after finding them that way on a beach.
Soon after it was posted he took it down.
“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey said.
“I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Trump himself challenged the notion that Comey was unaware of the ulterior meaning of the numbers.
“Well if anybody knows anything about crime, they know ’86′ is a mob term for ‘kill ’em,’” Trump said.
“You ever see the movies?”
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