The numerals 8, 6 & 7 were visible, but the 4 wasn’t clearly etched into the grass. It remains unclear how the markings were made. The term “#86” is restaurant industry slang that generally refers to the unavailability of an item or a customer’s removal. #Trump & his allies have argued it means to kill someone [never been used that way before they started claiming it as far as I know]. Trump is the 47th POTUS, so the digits have been used to show opposition to Trump.
The numerals were not discernible to people on the #NationalMall, who could only see a few brownish patches of grass near the WWII Memorial. The numerals seemed visible only from a tall vantage point, such as the top of the Washington Monument.
Multiple emergency vehicles could be seen encircling the grass around 1PM. A team of officers stood over brown patches in the grass, wearing gloves, & appeared to be testing the grass with materials from a yellow case.