WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army veteran who set fire to an American flag near the White House to protest President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on flag burning pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal criminal charges.
Jan Carey is charged with two misdemeanors that are not focused on the act of burning a flag. Making his initial court appearance, Carey was arraigned on charges of igniting a fire in an undesignated area and lighting a fire causing damage to property or park resources.
Chief Judge James Boasberg set on Oct. 17 deadline for Carey’s lawyers to file a motion to dismiss the case on constitutional grounds. Carey is due back in court on Dec. 1 for a status hearing.
Carey, 54, of Arden, North Carolina, was arrested on Aug. 25 after he set fire to a flag in Lafayette Park. Earlier that day, Trump signed an executive order requiring the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag.
The Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is a legitimate political expression protected by the Constitution. Trump’s order asserts that burning a flag can be prosecuted if it “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.”
“What do you have to say for yourself, sir?”
“I was decommissioning a flag that’s apparently no longer needed in strict accordance with the Flag Code.”
“…”
Iirc, you’re supposed to dispose of a flag once it touches the ground for any reason, and the only acceptable disposal method is incineration.