Democratic California Rep. Ted Lieu posted “86 47” on his X account Sunday, mimicking an alleged threat to assassinate President Donald Trump that former FBI Director James Comey was indicted for posting previously.
A federal grand jury indicted Comey Tuesday on charges of threatening to assassinate Trump over a May 2025 Instagram post which depicted seashells saying “8647,” a phrase interpreted by Trump supporters as calling for the president’s assassination. Lieu, whose district includes Torrance, California, where Trump’s accused would-be assassin Cole Allen resided, posted a response to a clip of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s appearance on “Meet the Press” that included the term, a message parroted by leftists during Friday protests.
“Here are three things that will happen: 1. DOJ will lose the Comey case. 2. In the next Administration, Comey will get a big monetary settlement for selective prosecution. 3. After this Administration ends, @DAGToddBlanche will get disbarred. 86 47,” Lieu said.
Here are three things that will happen:
1. DOJ will lose the Comey case.
2. In the next Administration, Comey will get a big monetary settlement for selective prosecution.
3. After this Administration ends, @DAGToddBlanche will get disbarred.
86 47 https://t.co/wM8BbalGTm
Should Rep. Ted Lieu face consequences for his recent social media post?— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) May 3, 2026
Attorneys who represented Trump during the president’s efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election, notably Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, faced efforts to strip their licenses to practice law.
Lieu accused Trump of raping children during a Feb. 3 press conference that aired on C-SPAN, referencing claims made in files involving registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) characterized as false.
Some legal scholars, including George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley, expressed skepticism about the DOJ’s case against Comey, saying the case could fail on First Amendment grounds.
In a manifesto, Allen, a teacher from Torrance charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25, claimed Trump was a “pedophile” and “rapist.” Trump survived two previous assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign, one during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the other while Trump was playing a round of golf in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Previous attempts on Trump’s life included two schemes to send poisoned letters and a man who tried to take a law enforcement officer’s gun to shoot Trump during a June 2016 campaign event in Las Vegas.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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