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Feds move to dismiss charges against Army veteran who burned American flag near White House
Federal prosecutors dismissed misdemeanor charges against Army veteran Jan Carey linked to flag burning protest targeting President Trump's executive order, citing First Amendment protections.
- Federal prosecutors in D.C. moved on March 13, 2026, to dismiss charges against Jan "Jay" Carey, who burned a flag in Lafayette Park, without explaining their reasoning.
- Carey said he acted after seeing Trump’s Aug. 25 executive order calling for increased prosecution of flag burning, and he burned the flag to protest it.
- On Aug. 25 in Lafayette Park, Carey used a bullhorn, set a U.S. flag alight with rubbing alcohol at about 6:20pm ET, and four federal officers extinguished the flames before arresting him.
- Carey's lawyer Mara Verheyden-Hilliard called the dismissal 'a critical vindication of those rights' and said it 'lays the groundwork for defending those targeted for vindictive prosecution.'
- The Supreme Court holds that flag burning is protected speech, and federal judge James Boasberg allowed inquiry into whether prosecution was retaliatory, with the DOJ's filing coming ahead of Monday's deadline.
39 Articles
39 Articles
Prosecutors Drop Case Against Veteran in Flag Burning Protest
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss misdemeanor charges against an Army veteran who burned an American flag near the White House during a protest of a presidential executive order targeting flag-burning incidents. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion Friday to drop the case against Jan “Jay” Carey, who had been arrested in August 2025 after setting a U.S. flag on fire in Lafayette Park while using a bullhorn to …
Feds Move to Drop Charges Against Veteran in Flag Burning
Jay Carey, 55, of Arden, North Carolina, who has said he served in the Army from 1989 to 2012 and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, was arrested on Aug. 25 after he set fire to a flag in Lafayette Park, which the National Park Service oversees.
Associated Press News
Feds move to dismiss charges against Army veteran who burned American flag near White House
The Justice Department has moved to dismiss charges against an Army veteran who set fire to an American flag near the White House last year to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on flag burning.
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