Federal prosecutors in D.C. on Friday moved to drop charges against a man who was charged last year after he burned an American flag outside the White House, after President Trump had signed an executive order directing the DOJ to investigate flag burning.
Jan Carey was facing two misdemeanor criminal counts in Washington, D.C., federal court. Neither charge focused on the fact that he burned a flag, specifically: One of the counts was for lighting a fire “not in a designated area and receptacle,” and another was for lighting a fire “in a manner that threatened, caused damage to, and resulted in the burning of property, real property, and park resources.”
Both charges were punishable by a fine or no more than six months in custody.
Carey had pleaded not guilty and was challenging his indictment.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in D.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The government’s attempt to criminally punish a protestor based on expressive conduct targeted for prosecution by presidential order posed a grave threat to First Amendment freedoms,” Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, an attorney for Carey, said in a statement provided to CBS News Friday night. “The Justice Department’s about-face is a critical vindication of those rights. This case also lays the groundwork for defending those across the country who are targeted for vindictive prosecution by the Trump Administration in an effort to silence and punish viewpoint it doesn’t like. This is a victory for democracy and the First Amendment.”
In a video of the flag burning that was captured by WUSA9, Carey identified himself as a military veteran and said he was protesting the executive order, telling the outlet at the time that he “immediately thought I need to go burn a flag in front of the White House and let’s put this to the test.”
Evan Vucci / AP
Mr. Trump had signed an executive order directing the DOJ to investigate people who burn the American flag, even though the Supreme Court in 1989 ruled that the First Amendment protected symbolic speech, including flag burning.
The president’s order attempts to navigate around the Supreme Court ruling. It said federal prosecutors should prioritize bringing cases against instances of flag burning that violate other “content-neutral laws,” and said the high court didn’t rule out charges if burning a flag “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.”
The president has long pushed for criminal prosecutions for burning an American flag, suggesting in 2016 that it should be punished by “loss of citizenship or year in jail.”
