Tucson Democratic Groups Use ‘86 47’ As Happy Hour Password— ‘You Didn’t Get That From Us’

Two Tucson-area Democratic organizations are promoting a political happy hour with “86 47” as the password for admission, prompting a Republican state lawmaker to accuse the organizers of invoking assassination rhetoric aimed at President Donald Trump.

The “Mingling Liberally” event is scheduled for Sept. 9 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Old Pueblo Club Speakeasy inside Sonoran House in Tucson. It is being cohosted by Democrats of Greater Tucson and the Legislative District 20 Democrats, according to the event’s public announcement.

An archived version of the event listing instructed guests to enter through the coffeehouse or an unmarked alley door before adding, “Special Password 8647,” accompanied by a winking emoji.

An invitation publicized by Republican Arizona state Rep. Rachel Keshel contained a second reference to the password: “You go down the hallway and give the password ‘86 47,’ but you didn’t get that from us,” according to The Post Millennial.

Keshel, who represents Legislative District 17, questioned why the Democratic organizations selected the number and accused them of encouraging violence against political opponents. 

“Why are Democratic organizations using ‘86 47’ as their event password?” Keshel wrote on X. She added that political violence and rhetoric encouraging assassination were unacceptable regardless of political party.

Why are the Greater Democrats of Tucson and LD 20 Democrats using 86 47 as their passcode for this event? Why is the left encouraging the assassination of political opponents?

This is very unsettling and completely unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/zqCRHBrnfr

— AZ Representative Rachel (Jones) Keshel (@RJ4arizona) September 3, 2026

Keshel serves as vice chairwoman of the House Federalism, Military Affairs and Elections Committee.

The event announcement describes “Mingling Liberally” as combining a short speech by a candidate or public official with an opportunity to meet Democrats from across Tucson. Democratic state treasurer candidate Nick Mansour is scheduled to be the featured speaker, and elected officials from Legislative District 20 were invited to attend.

The invitation circulated by Keshel also identified Democratic state Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales and state Rep. Betty Villegas. Both advanced from the July Democratic primary as nominees for Arizona’s two Legislative District 20 House seats, according to the official state canvass. Gonzales is leaving the Senate because of term limits and seeking a House seat, and incumbent Villegas is seeking reelection.

The political meaning of “86 47” has been disputed. “Eighty-six” commonly means to reject, discontinue or get rid of something, according to Merriam-Webster. The number 47 refers to Trump, the 47th president. Supporters of the slogan have forwarded the narrative that describes it as a call to remove Trump from office. 

The Associated Press reported that using “86” to mean “kill” is a newer and less common usage. Trump and other Republicans have interpreted the combination as an assassination reference, according to the AP’s examination of the phrase.

The expression previously became the subject of a federal criminal case after former FBI Director James Comey posted an Instagram photograph showing seashells arranged to read “86 47” in May 2025.

A federal grand jury indicted Comey in April on charges of threatening to harm the president and transmitting a threatening communication. Prosecutors alleged that a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret the image as a serious expression of intent to harm Trump, according to the Justice Department.

“There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey’s post could read it to mean ‘Kill President Trump’,” DOJ prosecutors stated in court documents.

The prosecutors went on to state, “The indictment states that Comey violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 871(a), 875(c) because he ‘publicly posted a photograph on the internet social media site Instagram which depicted seashells arranged in a pattern making out ’86 47,’ which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of intent to do harm to’ the President.”

Comey deleted his post and said he had assumed the shells conveyed a political message. He said he had not realized some people associated the numbers with violence and opposed violence of any kind. His attorneys have denied the charges and said they intend to defend him on First Amendment grounds, according to the Associated Press. 

The Tucson event announcement explains that volunteers will direct attendees to the speakeasy’s concealed entrance, check guests in, and distribute Legislative District 20 information. It does not explain why “86 47” was selected as the password or address Keshel’s criticism. The Democrats of Greater Tucson has claimed ignorance, stating they “condemn violence in all forms:”

“Everyone welcome! In light of the recent tragic shooting here in Tucson, and because there seems to have been some confusion regarding this event announcement, we of course condemn violence in all forms. Our understanding of the slang ’86’ is that it was a restaurant term simply meaning the peaceful removal of a disruptive guest.”