“86 47” Slogan Reappears at May Day Protests as Comey’s Instagram Post Sparks DOJ Indictment

Signs bearing the numbers "86 47" resurfaced at May Day demonstrations in New York City and Los Angeles this week, echoing a May 2025 Instagram image posted by former FBI Director James Comey that has since become the focus of a Justice Department investigation.

Photographs taken by Fox News Digital captured multiple protesters holding placards with the digits "86 47," including at least one sign reading, "86 the whole regime." The same numbers were arranged in shells in Comey’s now-deleted Instagram photo, which he captioned, "Cool shell formation on my beach walk…"

What the Indictment Alleges

The Department of Justice this week returned an indictment charging Comey with two counts: knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of, or inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States; and knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate or foreign commerce a communication containing a threat to kill President Donald Trump. The indictment states the alleged conduct relates to the May 2025 Instagram post.

Activists participate in a May Day march in New York City, Friday, May 1, 2026.

Each count carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors and critics have described the post as a veiled threat, while some defenders have questioned whether the image rose to that level.

May Day Demonstrations

May Day Strong, the principal organizer of Friday’s events, described the gatherings as actions by "workers, students, and families" rallying across the country to demand policies that prioritize workers over billionaires. Organizers said many participants used tactics such as "No School. No Work. No Shopping." to disrupt business as usual.

May Day has its origins in 19th-century labor movements, when socialists, Marxists and trade unions called for strikes in Paris. The day later became a national holiday in the Soviet Union after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Critics argue that modern May Day events in the U.S. are shaped by large, politically active unions and have taken on more overt partisan messaging.

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.

A Fox News Digital review found roughly 600 groups with about $2 billion in combined annual revenues were expected to organize an estimated 6,000 May Day events nationwide on Friday, a figure cited by critics to illustrate the scale and organization behind the demonstrations.

Public Reaction and Legal Debate

Photographs of protesters and the deleted Instagram image have become focal points in public debate over whether Comey’s post constituted a true threat. Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials criticized the photograph as menacing; others have warned about the legal and free-speech implications of prosecuting a social-media post.

Fox News reporters David Spunt, Bill Mears and Jake Gibson, along with Fox News Digital contributors Asra Nomani, Louis Casiano and Preston Mizell, contributed to reporting on the protests and the related legal developments.