{"id":232,"date":"2026-06-30T23:41:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=232"},"modified":"2026-06-30T23:41:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:41:40","slug":"judge-rules-trump-abuse-protest-signs-86-47-flag-are-protected-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=232","title":{"rendered":"Judge rules Trump abuse protest signs, \u201886 47\u2019 flag are protected speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Park Service cannot interfere with a protest group\u2019s ongoing demonstration featuring signs accusing President Donald Trump of sexual abuse and a flag with the caption \u201c86 47.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on trans athletes is legal scapegoating<\/a><\/p>\n

In a 52-page summary judgment issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss wrote that the activist group Accountability NOW may continue to display those materials at a 24\/7 demonstration it is holding in Washington without risking losing its NPS permit. Moss ruled that the relevant materials are protected under the First Amendment and do not fall within the the narrow category of unprotected speech, as the government argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the Court\u2019s opinion is lengthy, that does not mean that this is a hard case. It is not,\u201d Moss wrote. \u201cPlaintiff\u2019s signs and flag fall well within the heartland of protected First Amendment speech, and Defendants offer no plausible basis for suppressing Plaintiff\u2019s core, political speech.\u201d <\/p>\n

The White House referred MS NOW\u2019s request for comment on the ruling to the Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service.<\/p>\n

In a statement to MS NOW, an Interior Department spokesperson said that Moss was appointed by President Barack Obama and said, \u201cFlying a flag that is a threat to the Office of the President of the United States should not be permitted under any administration. In what world have we lost all decency to demand that any threat against the President be taken very seriously?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a reminder, we are approaching America\u2019s 250th and we have visitors of all ages coming to our nation\u2019s capital,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cThis language is not protected under the First Amendment and is not appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ruling comes after Accountability NOW filed a lawsuit against Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks Kevin Greiss in April, when NPS appeared to threaten the group\u2019s permit for displaying two signs accusing Trump of rape of minors. The display of the signs followed an NPR investigation, which MS NOW has confirmed, that alleged the Justice Department withheld some documents from the Epstein files that accused the president of sexually abusing a minor.<\/p>\n

Trump has not been charged with any crimes in relation to Jeffrey Epstein. The president has denied any allegations of wrongdoing in connection to the convicted sex offender and has said he cut ties with him upon learning of his crimes. The Justice Department has said any withheld documents from the Epstein files are privileged.<\/p>\n

NPS officials asked the group \u2014\u00a0which has been protesting since December \u2014\u00a0to take down the signs during an in-person conversation in April. The next day, Greiss wrote in an email that the signs constituted an \u201cunprotected obscenity\u201d and warned the NPS could \u201cimpose and enforce permit conditions to prevent unlawful conduct.\u201d The group\u2019s permit is currently valid through August.<\/p>\n

Also at issue was an \u201c86 47\u201d flag that the group purchased from Amazon last year and displayed \u201con and off\u201d at the site, located near the George Meade Statue on Constitution Avenue. As shorthand, \u201c86\u201d means \u201cto cancel,\u201d and \u201c47\u201d refers to Trump\u2019s status as the 47th president. That phrase is also central to a pending federal investigation involving ex-FBI Director James Comey, after he posted a photograph of seashells on a beach arranged in that formulation of numbers.<\/p>\n

According to the Monday ruling, the Secret Service approached the demonstration site last month after receiving a complaint about the flag. A protester told officers, \u201cI want Trump to live forever and rot in jail where he belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Elon Musk promotes xenophobic film that glorifies vigilantism<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOK. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s all, all I needed to know,\u201d the officer replied. <\/p>\n

About 30 minutes later, two other Secret Service members approached the protester and read the Miranda rights to her. When the volunteer declined to speak with officers, the Secret Service opened an investigation, according to the ruling.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, several U.S. Park Police officers arrived at the site and warned a volunteer on duty that \u201c86 47\u201d constituted a threat against the president, according to the ruling. The demonstrator removed the flag, and the officer warned that if it went back up it would constitute a permit violation.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the group requested a preliminary injunction allowing them to display the signs and the flag. At oral arguments last month, the parties agreed Moss could issue a summary judgment, or final ruling, on the matter.<\/p>\n

In Monday\u2019s ruling, Moss rejected the government\u2019s claims that the signs alleging abuse were \u201cobscene\u201d and that the \u201c8647\u201d flag constituted a \u201ctrue threat\u201d against the president.<\/p>\n

The signs accusing Trump of sexual abuse, Moss wrote, \u201cmight outrage or offend some, but they do not, by any measure, cross the line from protected political speech to unprotected obscenity.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSimilarly, Plaintiff\u2019s \u201886 47\u2019 flag and similar materials, which were displayed along with other materials calling for President Trump\u2019s removal from office, do not constitute a \u2018true threat\u2019 or criminal \u2018incitement\u2019 to violence,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Anita Carey, an Accountability NOW organizer, celebrated the ruling and characterized the \u201c86 47\u201d flags as \u201cpeaceful.\u201d Carey added that the group \u201cwill continue to exercise our constitutional right to lawfully and peacefully call for the President\u2019s impeachment, conviction and removal from office.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the nation celebrates 250 years of independence,\u201d Carey said, \u201cthis ruling underscores the enduring importance of public dissent in our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aditi Shah, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of D.C., which is representing the protest group in the legal proceedings, said in a statement that the ACLU is \u201cgrateful that the court saw through the government\u2019s ruse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Vought defends White House\u2019s ideological grant rule in contentious House hearing<\/a><\/p>\n

Lisa Rubin contributed reporting.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Judge Randolph Moss ruled that an activist group can continue to display anti-Trump signage without fear of interference from the National Park Service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nJudge rules Trump abuse protest signs, \u201886 47\u2019 flag are protected speech - Long Distance Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=232\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge rules Trump abuse protest signs, \u201886 47\u2019 flag are protected speech - 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