Trump administration to drop charges against US veteran who burned flag
Al Jazeera
Veteran Jay Carey burned a US flag in protest of an executive order from Trump calling for prison terms for such acts.
The administration of President Donald Trump has moved to end its prosecution of a United States Army veteran who burned a national flag to protest one of the president’s executive orders.
Court filings this week show that the Department of Justice has moved to drop the charges against defendant Jan “Jay” Carey, following his motion to dismiss last October.
Carey had been charged with two misdemeanours: one for lighting a fire outside of designated areas, and the second for lighting a fire in a manner that creates a public safety hazard or threatens property.
The incident unfolded on August 25, in the hours after Trump signed an executive order calling for the prosecution of flag-burners.
The Supreme Court has long upheld flag burning as an act of protected free speech. In the 1989 case Texas v Johnson, for instance, the high court held that “flag desecration is inconsistent with the First Amendment”, which protects free speech.
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