Flag Burner Arrested Outside White House Hours After Trump Signs Executive Order

President Donald Trump’s executive order to punish flag burners was almost immediately greeted by the burning of an American flag in protest.

On Monday afternoon, Jay Carey, who retired from the Army after 22 years of service that included being awarded the Bronze Star, torched a flag outside the White House, according to WTTG-TV.

Carey said that Trump’s order violates the First Amendment and rulings from the Supreme Court saying that burning the American flag is protected speech.

“It’s your First Amendment right to burn the American Flag!” Carey said. “No president can make a law. Period! No Congress can make a law infringing on First Amendment rights.”

This is replacing a previous post: A Veteran was detained outside of the White House by Secret Service after burning an American flag. pic.twitter.com/kXL5gPc2aj

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) August 26, 2025

“Nobody will enforce those illegal laws that that president tried to make,” he said moments before he was led away by the Secret Service.

Trump’s order offers a nuanced interpretation of the 1989 court ruling.

“Notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s rulings on First Amendment protections, the Court has never held that American Flag desecration conducted in a manner that is likely to incite imminent lawless action or that is an action amounting to ‘fighting words’ is constitutionally protected,” the order said.

“My Administration will act to restore respect and sanctity to the American Flag and prosecute those who incite violence or otherwise violate our laws while desecrating this symbol of our country, to the fullest extent permissible under any available authority,” the order said.

The order is rooted in Trump’s long-standing opposition to flag desecration.

“Our great American Flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, and of American freedom, identity, and strength. Over nearly two-and-a-half centuries, many thousands of American patriots have fought, bled, and died to keep the Stars and Stripes waving proudly. The American Flag is a special symbol in our national life that should unite and represent all Americans of every background and walk of life,” the order said.

“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. American Flag burning is also used by groups of foreign nationals as a calculated act to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans because of their nationality and place of birth,” the order said.

The order calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to “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.”

“This may include, but is not limited to, violent crimes; hate crimes, illegal discrimination against American citizens, or other violations of Americans’ civil rights; and crimes against property and the peace, as well as conspiracies and attempts to violate, and aiding and abetting others to violate, such laws,” the order said.

When federal agencies determine “that an instance of American Flag desecration may violate an applicable State or local law, such as open burning restrictions, disorderly conduct laws, or destruction of property laws, the agency shall refer the matter to the appropriate State or local authority for potential action,” the order said.

The order said federal officials “shall deny, prohibit, terminate, or revoke visas, residence permits, naturalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits, or seek removal from the United States… whenever there has been an appropriate determination that foreign nationals have engaged in American Flag-desecration activity under circumstances that permit the exercise of such remedies pursuant to Federal law.”

A fact sheet issued with the order noted that, “Recent protests, including those in Los Angeles in June 2025, have featured flag burning alongside violent acts and other conduct threatening public safety. Such conduct disrespects the sacrifices of Americans who bled for our country, and undermines the flag as a symbol that unites and represents all Americans of every background and walk of life.”

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