Federal prosecutors in D.C. filed criminal charges against a man who burned an American flag outside of the White House earlier this week, after President Trump signed an executive order ordering the Justice Department to investigate flag burning.
Jan Carey, 54, of North Carolina, is facing two misdemeanor criminal counts in Washington, D.C., federal court. Neither charge focuses 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 are punishable by a fine or no more than six months in custody.
In a video of the flag burning captured by WUSA9 on Monday, Carey identified himself as a military veteran and said he was protesting the executive order.
In an interview with WUSA9, Carey said he “immediately thought I need to go burn a flag in front of the White House and let’s put this to the test.”
On Monday, Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing the Justice Department 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.
Mr. Trump’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.”
“You burn a flag, you get one year in jail. You don’t get 10 years, you don’t get one month,” Mr. Trump said Monday. “You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record, and you will see flag burning stopping immediately.”
Mr. Trump’s order also calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to litigate a challenge to the 1989 ruling, potentially getting the issue in front of a Supreme Court bench that is far more conservative than the high court was at the time of the original decision. And it suggests alleged flag burners could be charged with inciting a riot.
Carey, however, was not charged with incitement.
CBS News has reached out to Carey for comment.
