Douglas Cooper walked around his Mattituck farm Monday, tending the roadside stand he opened nearly six decades ago — while the massive American flag and controversial sign that drew federal agents to his property were nowhere in sight.

The 78-year-old, self-described “moderate liberal Republican” — and longtime Mattituck-Cutchogue school board member — set off a fierce debate after hanging a sign reading “86 47” high above his Breakwater Road farm just before the Fourth of July weekend.

As The Suffolk Times first reported Friday, his political gesture drew the attention of the Secret Service, which paid a visit to his farm June 7 to question him for about 15 minutes about his motives. The two agents asked whether he travels to Washington, D.C., Trump Tower in Manhattan or political rallies, and whether he had any other affiliations.

Mr. Cooper described the conversation with the feds as cordial and continued displaying the sign above the massive American flag afterward. But hours after The Suffolk Times published its story Friday, he took down both the flag and the sign.

The white wooden board with the red-painted numbers lay across an old motorcycle on his property Saturday.

Mr. Cooper said the Secret Service visit had nothing to do with his decision to remove the display.

“I was tempted to put it back up because of the media (coverage),” he told The Suffolk Times on Monday.

The attention quickly spread far beyond his little patch of the North Fork. A Facebook post promoting The Suffolk Times’ original story drew more than 463,000 views from nearly 250,000 people in three days, along with 6,300 interactions and 11,300 link clicks.

The post fueled a wide-ranging debate over whether Mr. Cooper’s political statement warranted a visit from the Secret Service.

“A lot of people have voiced their support, stopped by, called, which is nice to see,” said Mr. Cooper, whose family has farmed on the North Fork for nearly 200 years.

He said a small number of people also called to voice their opposition.

Neighbor Michele Ashcroft wasn’t one of those. She was at his farm Saturday to thank him for his bravery.

“He’s a sweetheart, and I came over because I wanted to see if I could see him and tell him how much I appreciate people speaking out,” she told The Suffolk Times. “People are angry, and it’s not partisan. I think farmers all over should be feeling similarly.”

The phrase “86 47” gained national attention last year after former FBI Director James Comey posted a photo of seashells arranged to form the numbers.

The number 86 is generally associated with restaurant slang for a menu item being sold out or for ejecting a disruptive customer. The phrase has also been used by Trump opponents to call for removing him, the nation’s 47th president, from office. But Trump officials and other conservatives have interpreted it as a threat against his life.

A federal grand jury indicted Mr. Comey in April on charges of threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce over the post.

Mr. Cooper has insisted that it was never his intention to call for harm against Mr. Trump, who survived an alleged assassination attempt while running for office in 2024.

“I did it to voice my opinion,” said Mr. Cooper, who added that he believes Congress should remove President Trump from office.

Some critics questioned whether Mr. Cooper’s role as vice president of the Mattituck-Cutchogue Board of Education made his actions inappropriate.

“Not at all,” said Mr. Cooper, who has been on the board for about 35 years. “We don’t give up our personal rights when we are in an organization.”

The Suffolk Times reached out to Mattituck-Cutchogue school district officials for comment.

The Secret Service visit was not Mr. Cooper’s first run-in with authorities.

In 1995, he was charged with one felony count of first-degree reckless endangerment for shooting at a car packed with teenagers who allegedly attempted to steal money from a cash box on his property, as The Suffolk Times previously reported.

Mr. Cooper had caught one of the alleged young bandits and tied him to a boat as a car with three more teens approached his property, according to a police report. He then fired multiple shots from a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, hitting the car once in the rear quarter panel and blowing out one of its rear tires, the report said.

The gun-toting farmer received an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution to cover the damage to the car. The charge was dismissed six months later after he was not arrested again.

Mr. Cooper said the incident didn’t cross his mind when the agents stopped by last week.

“I take for granted that they know all about me,” he said. “There are no secrets.”

The post Mattituck farmer Cooper explains removing ‘86 47’ sign after Secret Service visit appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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