Jay Carey for Congress
The Department of Justice under President Donald Trump has filed a motion to dismiss all charges against an Army veteran who deliberately torched the Stars and Stripes in Lafayette Park right outside the White House, just hours after Trump signed an executive order directing the feds to prosecute flag burners.
On Friday, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss the federal charges against Jay (Jan) Carey, a 55-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Arden, North Carolina.
The filing did not provide a specific explanation for the decision to drop the case.
On August 25, 2025, Carey was arrested after setting fire to an American flag in Lafayette Park, directly across from the White House.
The protest occurred on the same day President Donald Trump’s bold new order was meant to finally put an end to the left’s disgusting war on the American flag, the very symbol that countless real heroes fought and died for.
“Our great American Flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, and of American freedom, identity, and strength,” the order reads.
“Desecrating it is uniquely offensive and provocative. It is a statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation — the clearest possible expression of opposition to the political union that preserves our rights, liberty, and security. Burning this representation of America may incite violence and riot.”
While the Supreme Court has previously ruled that flag burning is a form of political expression protected by the First Amendment, the executive order asserted that it could be prosecuted if it amounts to “fighting words” or is likely to “incite imminent lawless action.”
More from WSLS:
Carey was charged with two misdemeanors that aren’t focused on the act of burning a flag: igniting a fire in an undesignated area and lighting a fire causing damage to property or park resources. He pleaded not guilty in September. Friday’s filing did not explain the decision to move to dismiss and the U.S Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond on Saturday to an email seeking comment.
[…]
“I set out to demonstrate that the First Amendment is sacred and that no administration has the right to supersede our constitutional rights,” Carey said in a statement from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. “I was targeted for federal prosecution because of that. I am glad to stand with all those who are fighting for our fundamental rights and hope that this victory can help the next person who takes a stand.”
It shows people that “the Constitution still matters,” Carey said when reached by telephone on Saturday.
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, one of Carey’s lawyers and fund co-founder, said the prosecution shouldn’t have been brought.
“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,” Verheyden-Hilliard said in a statement. “The government’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 viewpoints it doesn’t like.”
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