The prosecution of a man who burned the American flag near the White House in protest of an executive order against flag burning has been dropped by the US Department of Justice.
On Friday, the justice department moved to dismiss charges against Jan “Jay” Carey, 55, a military combat veteran who set the flag on fire in Lafayette Square in Washington DC in August, the day that Donald Trump signed a presidential order to crack down on flag burning.
“I’m burning this flag as a protest to that illegal fascist president that sits in that house,” Carey shouted to onlookers as he set fire to the flag. He was promptly arrested by police.
The justice department didn’t explain its decision to drop the case against Carey, who served in Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan. The move came just days before a deadline set on Monday for prosecutors to respond to claims by Carey’s lawyers that he had been the subject of an unwarranted attempt to curtail his first amendment rights, which include freedom of speech.
“This is a very significant victory for not only the first amendment rights of Mr Carey but the rights of all Americans to stand up and speak out on issues that they care about without being targeted for punishment by the justice department,” Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a lawyer for Carey, told NBC.
Verheyden-Hilliard, who is representing Carey pro bono, said that her client had been prosecuted “at the whims and the directives of a president who has said that he disfavors a particular viewpoint”.
Burning the US flag has been considered protected under the constitution since a 1989 supreme court ruling. However, in his executive order, Trump ordered his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to “vigorously prosecute” those who burn the flag, arguing that the action could spur violence.
“It is a statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our nation – the clearest possible expression of opposition to the political union that preserves our rights, liberty, and security,” the order read. “Burning this representation of America may incite violence and riot.”
Following his arrest, Carey said he felt compelled to act in response to the executive order.
“This was a direct protest about an illegal order that President Trump tried to put in place,” he said. “I did not do this just for myself, but for everyone who believes in the constitution and the protections for all that it provides.”
