The U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Park Police arrested an Army veteran outside the White House in Lafayette Park on Monday after the veteran set an American flag on fire in protest of President Donald Trump’s executive order cracking down on crimes associated with the burning of the American flag.
In a video from Monday’s incident in front of the White House, the protester was identified as Jay Carey, an Army veteran who served in the military for two decades.
Prior to setting the American flag on fire, Carey addressed a crowd of protesters with a bullhorn, saying, “I fought for every single one of your rights to express yourself in however you feel that you may want to express yourself. It is a First Amendment right to burn the American flag.”
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“I’m burning this flag as a protest to that illegal fascist president that sits in that house. I’m doing this for every single one of you American citizens,” the Army veteran said as he ignited the flag. “We burn this flag in protest to that president who feels that it’s his right to do whatever he wants, make whatever law he wants, regardless if it’s legal or illegal.”
Later in the video, Carey can be seen being arrested in Lafayette Park by Secret Service agents. The Secret Service told The Hill that an individual was detained at roughly 6:15 p.m. on Monday “for igniting an object” in Lafayette Park. The Secret Service confirmed that the individual was then turned over to the U.S. Park Police.
In a statement obtained by Fox 5, the U.S. Park Police said, “At about 6:30 pm, the United States Park Police arrested one person in Lafayette Park for a violation of 36 CFR 2.13(a)(1), prohibited fire. All units have cleared the scene.”
The flag-burning incident outside of the White House on Monday came after the president issued an executive order to prosecute individuals for crimes associated with the burning of the American flag. Trump warned that burning the American flag is “uniquely offensive and provocative” and that the desecration of the flag can “incite violence and riot.”
Trump’s executive order stated, “The Attorney General shall prioritize the enforcement to the fullest extent possible of our Nation’s criminal and civil laws against acts of American Flag desecration that violate applicable, content-neutral laws, while causing harm unrelated to expression, consistent with the First Amendment.”
