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President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to end prosecutions of veterans who burned the flag in protest of one of the president’s executive orders.
A court filing this week revealed that the Justice Department moved to drop the charges against Jean “Jay” Carey after the defendant filed a motion to dismiss last October.
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Carey was charged with two misdemeanors. The first charge was for setting a fire outside a designated area, and the second charge was for starting a fire in a manner that endangered public safety or threatened property.
The incident occurred on August 25, hours after President Trump signed an executive order calling for the prosecution of flag-raisers.
The Supreme Court has long upheld flag burning as an act that protects free speech. For example, in the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson, the high court ruled that “desecration of the national flag is inconsistent with the First Amendment’s protection of free speech.”
That decision was reaffirmed a year later, in 1990, when Congress passed a new Flag Protection Act that outlawed such vandalism. The high court ruled the law unconstitutional.
But President Trump has argued that flag burning incites violence and is not protected by the First Amendment.
Since his first term, he has pushed for stiff prison sentences for protesters who intentionally vandalize the American flag.
When President Trump signed the executive order last August, he said, “If you burn the flag, you will be sentenced to one year in prison.” “There’s no early exit or anything.”
The president’s executive order acknowledged Supreme Court precedent protecting flag burning as an act of free speech, but still called on the U.S. attorney general to “prioritize the fullest enforcement of our nation’s criminal and civil laws.”
In short, critics say, the bill requires the attorney general to investigate and prosecute those who fly the flag for laws that fall outside the scope of the First Amendment.
In an interview with Al Jazeera’s “UNMUTE” last year, Carey explained that he was furious that the president was trying to circumvent the free speech rights he had fought for as a military veteran.
“I served over 20 years. I defended that flag, I served under that flag, I fought for that flag,” Carey told Al Jazeera.
“The flag is a symbol. It’s not our democracy. I didn’t desecrate the flag or burn the flag to protest America. I did it in direct response to what a treasonous, fascist president did by signing an executive order.”
Carey recalled seeing the executive order and consulting with a friend. “I thought we should burn the flag in front of the White House.”
A video recorded what happened next. On August 25th, at around 6:20pm ET (22:20 GMT), Carey appeared in Lafayette Park, directly across from the White House.
He took out a bullhorn, identified himself as a U.S. veteran, and protested Trump’s executive order. They then placed an American flag on a brick path in the park and ignited it using rubbing alcohol as an accelerator.
Four federal law enforcement officers then approached Carey. One person used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the flames. The others handcuffed Carey and led her away.
Body camera footage released by law enforcement showed four officers discussing President Trump’s executive order while Mr. Carey was being restrained.
“So the president signed an executive order today saying we’re going to arrest him,” one person said. “We made it work.”
The Civil Justice Partnership Fund, a legal nonprofit, ultimately assumed Carey’s defense, arguing that the veterans’ charges were evidence of “vengeful prosecution.” He also said the Trump administration’s actions were a “direct attack on the opposition.”
Carey himself pleaded not guilty in September.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Carey emphasized that Trump’s executive order is not enforceable, but could undermine free speech.
“This executive order was nothing more than fluff,” Carey said. “The First Amendment means I can exercise my rights, my voice, my opinions. I can peacefully protest and have my grievances redressed.”
“As long as I’m not inciting violence, I’m well within my First Amendment rights.”
