Justice Department moves to dismiss charges against veteran who burned flag near White House
The Justice Department dropped charges against Army veteran Jay Carey who burned a flag outside the White House in opposition to an executive order that made such an act subject to punishment. (Image from Shutterstock)
The Justice Department has dropped charges against an Army veteran who burned a flag outside the White House in opposition to an executive order making the act punishable.
Jay Carey, 55, of North Carolina, who served two decades in the Army, had not been charged with flag burning. He pled not guilty to two misdemeanors: igniting a fire in an undesignated area and lighting a fire causing damage to property. The Supreme Court ruling of Texas v. Johnson (1989) established flag burning as a First Amendment right.
President Donald Trump’s August executive order urged the Justice Department to find ways to “vigorously prosecute” those who engage in “acts of American flag desecration,” stopping short of making flag burning a crime, according to coverage in the New York Times.
Carey’s lawyers argued vindictive persecution because their client had exercised his First Amendment right. Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Carey’s attorney with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, said the administration’s case “should never have been brought to begin with.” The Justice Department did not immediately respond to inquiries about the case.
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