The vandalism was discovered early Friday morning directly on the bottom of the reflecting pool, which has been drained for President Donald Trump’s historic renovation.
“Around 7:20 a.m. this morning, the U.S. Park Police was notified by the National Park Service of approximately 15-by-30-foot ‘8647’ graffiti spray-painted in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Park Police told the Washington Examiner.
The graffiti comes just days after James Comey was indicted for posting an image featuring this exact phrase on Instagram in May of last year.
The code “86” is well-known restaurant industry slang meaning to “get rid of,” “remove,” but is often used to mean “kill” an item or person. Paired with “47,” it appears to be a direct threat against the sitting president.
Freelance journalist Andrew Leyden captured images of the targeted parts of the pool covered with tarps.
Leyden wrote in a post on X, “Two areas of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool are covered by tarps this morning, and US Park Police are on scene talking to workers and apparently looking for evidence. Unknown what happened, but the construction site has reportedly had some graffiti over the last few days, and the ‘Thank You Trump’ banners have been removed.”
Two areas of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool are covered by tarps this morning, and US Park Police are on scene talking to workers and apparently looking for evidence. Unknown what happened, but the construction site has reportedly had some graffiti over the last few days,…pic.twitter.com/5lGzdVnqWC
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix)May 1, 2026
The National Park Service and U.S. Park Police issued strong statements condemning the act.
“The vandalism is unacceptable and will not be tolerated on federal lands. The affected area has been secured and covered while cleanup is arranged. An active investigation is underway, and those responsible will be identified and held fully accountable,” the statement read.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
