Trump administration to drop charges against US veteran who burned flag

"The Supreme Court has long upheld flag burning as an act of protected free speech. In the 1989 case Texas v Johnson, for instance, the high court held that flag desecration is inconsistent with the First Amendment, which protects free speech. It reaffirmed that decision a year later in 1990, when Congress passed a new Flag Protection Act to outlaw such destructive behaviour. The high court struck down that law as unconstitutional."

"But Trump has maintained that flag burning is akin to the incitement of violence, which is not protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Since his first term, he has pushed for steep prison sentences for any protester who knowingly destroys a US flag. If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail, Trump said as he signed his executive order last August."

"Court filings this week show that the Department of Justice has moved to drop the charges against defendant Jan Jay Carey, following his motion to dismiss last October. Carey had been charged with two misdemeanours: one for lighting a fire outside of designated areas, and the second for lighting a fire in a manner that creates a public safety hazard or threatens property."

Army veteran Jan Jay Carey burned a US flag on August 25 to protest Trump's executive order calling for prosecution of flag-burners. He faced two misdemeanor charges: lighting a fire outside designated areas and creating a public safety hazard. The Department of Justice subsequently moved to drop the charges following Carey's motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court has consistently protected flag burning as free speech, striking down the 1990 Flag Protection Act as unconstitutional in Texas v. Johnson and subsequent rulings. Trump maintains flag burning constitutes incitement of violence unprotected by the First Amendment and has advocated for one-year prison sentences for flag destruction.

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