An Air Force veteran and congressional candidate who has made “8647” part of his campaign is doubling down on its messaging in the wake of the Justice Department indicting Former FBI Director James Comey for posting a photo with the numbers.
Mark Davis, an unaffiliated candidate running in Florida’s 16th district, drives around with an “8647” license plate, wears an “86 47” hat, and sells hats and a t-shirt featuring the numbers on his campaign’s website.
The numbers have become a rallying call for people who oppose President Donald Trump – 86 refers to getting rid of something, while 47 is Trump’s number as president. They made mainstream news recently after the Justice Department indicted Comey for making threats against the president by posting an Instagram photo of seashells arranged as “86 47.”
But Davis has no intention of retiring his use of “86 47.”
“Arrest us all. I dare you,” Davis said in an interview with NBC News. “I am done staying quiet. I’ve got a family, I’ve got kids, and I’m watching this country get dragged through chaos while people are going to sit down and shut up. And I am not doing that, and millions of other people aren’t doing it, either.”
Davis has been using “86 47” to express his disdain for Trump since he announced his campaign for the House of Representatives last year.
After the Justice Department indicated Comey, Davis posted a photo of himself wearing an “86 47” hat, posing with his “8647” license plate.
“Thanks a lot DOJ… You just made this a little awkward,” Davis wrote on Instagram.
Davis told NBC News he plans to wear his merch every day until his congressional election.
Comey, a longtime critic of Trump, was indicted for a second time this past week for the Instagram post featuring the numbers, which the president said was a way of saying someone should be killed.
“Well, if anybody knows anything about crime, they know ‘86,’” Trump said. “You know what ‘86’ – it’s a mob term for ‘kill him.’ You know?”
Comey has denied posting the photo as a message of violence.
Davis told NBC News it was “silly” to interpret “86” that way, describing it as “a restaurant term.”
Davis is not the only one who has been selling “86 47” merchandise. On Amazon, hundreds of t-shirts with variations of the numbers are available for as little as $10. Other websites, such as Redbubble and Etsy, sell stickers, hats, posters and other variations of “86 47.”
Comey was first indicted by the Trump administration last year on accusations of lying to Congress. He pleaded not guilty, but a federal judge later dismissed the case, accusing the prosecutor of being unlawfully appointed.
