The US Department of Justice has dropped charges against Jan 'Jay' Carey, a 55-year-old military combat veteran who burned the American flag near the White House in protest of an executive order against flag burning. The decision was announced on Friday, just days before a deadline for prosecutors to respond to claims that Carey's First Amendment rights had been violated.
Carey set fire to the flag in Lafayette Square, Washington DC, in August, the same day President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to 'vigorously prosecute' those who burn the flag. As he lit the flag, Carey shouted, 'I'm burning this flag as a protest to that illegal fascist president that sits in that house.' He was promptly arrested by police.
The Justice Department did not explain its decision to drop the case. Carey's lawyer, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, described the move as '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.' She added that her client had been prosecuted 'at the whims and the directives of a president who has said that he disfavours a particular viewpoint'.
Burning the US flag has been considered protected under the constitution since a 1989 Supreme Court ruling. Trump's executive order argued that flag burning could 'incite violence and riot'. Following his arrest, Carey said he felt compelled to act in response to the order, stating, 'This was a direct protest about an illegal order that President Trump tried to put in place. I did not do this just for myself, but for everyone who believes in the constitution and the protections for all that it provides.'
