President Donald Trump signed an executive order that essentially calls on the Attorney General to more aggressively pursue “flag burning” cases that cross over from a 1st Amendment expression to inciting “lawless action. The key claim in his EO is this; “The Supreme Court has never held that flag desecration conducted in a manner that is likely to incite imminent lawless action or serve as a form of “fighting words” is constitutionally protected.”
Shortly after the order, Jay Carey, a self-described 20-year veteran, burned the U.S. flag outside the White House in defiance of the order. He was soon arrested. He claimed, “I fought for every single one of your rights to express yourself in however you feel that you may want to express yourself. It is a First Amendment right to burn the American flag. I’m burning this flag as a protest to that illegal fascist president that sits in that house. We burn this flag in protest to that president who feels that it’s his right to do whatever he wants, make whatever law he wants, regardless if it’s legal or illegal.”
Man arrested outside of White House after burning flag to protest Trump EO | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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Authorities quickly intervened and placed him under arrest.
A crowd just steps from the White House watched as a man doused an American flag with accelerant and set it ablaze. The moment, captured on video and circulated on social media, showed him addressing bystanders through a bullhorn before lighting the fire.
The individual later identified himself as Jay Carey, a self-described 20-year combat veteran. Carey explained that his actions were intended as a protest in defense of the First Amendment right to burn the flag.