<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>4 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The administration of President Donald Trump has moved to end its prosecution of a United States Army veteran who burned a national flag to protest one of the president\u2019s executive orders.<\/p>\n<p>Court filings this week show that the Department of Justice has moved to drop the charges against defendant Jan \u201cJay\u201d Carey, following his motion to dismiss last October.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Carey had been charged with two misdemeanours: one for lighting a fire outside of designated areas, and the second for lighting a fire in a manner that creates a public safety hazard or threatens property.<\/p>\n<p>The incident unfolded on August 25, in the hours after Trump signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/08\/prosecuting-burning-of-the-american-flag\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">executive order<\/a> calling for the prosecution of flag-burners.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court has long upheld flag burning as an act of protected free speech. In the 1989 case Texas v Johnson, for instance, the high court held that \u201cflag desecration is inconsistent with the First Amendment\u201d, which protects free speech.<\/p>\n<p>It reaffirmed that decision a year later in 1990, when Congress passed a new Flag Protection Act to outlaw such destructive behaviour. The high court struck down that law as unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>But Trump has maintained that flag burning is akin to the incitement of violence, which is not protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Since his first term, he has pushed for steep prison sentences for any protester who knowingly destroys a US flag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you burn a flag, you get one year in jail,\u201d Trump said as he signed his executive order last August. \u201cNo early exits, no nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though his executive order acknowledged the Supreme Court\u2019s precedents protecting flag burning as an act of free speech, it nevertheless called on the US attorney general to \u201cprioritise enforcement to the fullest extent of our Nation\u2019s criminal and civil laws\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In short, critics say it calls on the attorney general to prosecute flag-burners by searching for laws that fall outside the First Amendment\u2019s scope.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview last year with the Al Jazeera programme UNMUTE, Carey explained he had been outraged that the president would seek to circumvent the free-speech rights he had fought for as a veteran.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI served for over 20 years. I defended that flag, served under that flag, fought for that flag,\u201d Carey told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe flag is a symbol. It\u2019s not our democracy. I didn\u2019t burn it to desecrate the flag or protest America. I did it as a direct reaction to what our treasonous, fascist president did by signing that executive order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carey recalled that, after seeing the executive order, he turned to a friend. \u201cI was like, I think I need to go burn a flag in front of the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Video captured the incident that followed. At about 6:20pm US Eastern time (22:20 GMT) on August 25, Carey appeared in Lafayette Park, directly across from the White House.<\/p>\n<p>He took out a bullhorn and identified himself as a US veteran, protesting Trump\u2019s executive order. He then placed a US flag on a brick pathway in the park and set it alight, using rubbing alcohol as an accelerant.<\/p>\n<p>Four federal law enforcement agents then approached Carey. One used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. The others handcuffed Carey and led him away.<\/p>\n<p>Body camera footage released by law enforcement showed the four officers discussing Trump\u2019s executive order as they detained Carey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the president just today signed an executive order [that] says we\u2019re arresting him,\u201d one says. \u201cWe got that going for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, a legal nonprofit, ultimately took up Carey\u2019s defence, arguing that charging the veteran was evidence of \u201cvindictive prosecution\u201d. It also called the Trump administration\u2019s actions \u201ca direct attack on dissent\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Carey himself pleaded not guilty to the charges in September.<\/p>\n<p>In his interview with Al Jazeera, Carey emphasised that Trump\u2019s executive order is unenforceable \u2014 but that it does threaten to dampen free speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis executive order was nothing but a bunch of fluff,\u201d Carey said. \u201cThe First Amendment means that I am able to exercise my rights, my voice, my opinions. I can protest peacefully and have my grievances redressed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as I\u2019m not causing violence, I\u2019m well within my rights within the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a04 mins info The administration of President Donald Trump has moved to end its prosecution of a United States Army veteran who burned a national flag to protest one of the president\u2019s executive orders. Court filings this week show that the Department of Justice has moved to drop the charges against defendant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}