WASHINGTON, D.C. (WLOS) — The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to dismiss misdemeanor charges against a North Carolina man who made national headlines for burning the U.S. flag in front of the White House, according to the Associated Press.
Jay Carey, 55, a veteran from western North Carolina, was arrested on Monday, Aug. 25, after he was seen burning an American flag in Lafayette Park by the White House.
As previously reported, according to the U.S. Secret Service, officers detained Carey, extinguished the flames and turned Carey over to the the U.S. Park Police.
MAN ARRESTED FOR BURNING AMERICAN FLAG NEAR WHITE HOUSE AFTER TRUMP SIGNS ORDER
The U.S. Park police charged Carey with a violation of 36 CFR 2.13(a)(1), which prohibits unauthorized fires on federal property.
Carey said the act was meant to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order signed earlier that day, which directed the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people who burn the American flag, per the AP.
As previously reported, the executive order, called “Prosecuting Burning of the American Flag,” contradicts a 1989 Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects flag burning.
“You burn a flag, you get one year in jail. You don’t get 10 years, you don’t get one month,” Trump said, according to the AP.
Carey burned it anyway.
A man was arrested Monday evening, Aug. 25, 2025, after being seen on camera burning an American flag in Lafayette Park, near the White House in D.C. (CNN Newsource)
Carey said in an Instagram post on his public profile that he was charged with lighting a fire in a park.
“I did this in protest of what Donald Trump did with that executive order saying that it was illegal to burn a[n] American flag,” he said. “He can’t make orders, so I wanted to put it to the test, so I did, and I’m not in jail for a year.”
As previously reported, in the same post, Carey described his arrest after the flag-burning incident.
“I got searched, handcuffed, put in the back of one of their rides[…] wound up back at one of their holding cells,” he said in a video posted to Instagram. “They felt the need to search me three times.”
Carey has garnered more than 9,000 followers.
A man was arrested Monday evening, Aug. 25, 2025, after being seen on camera burning an American flag in Lafayette Park, near the White House in D.C. (CNN Newsource)
Per the AP, Carey pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in September.
According to AP, that a filing made on Friday, March 13, indicates that federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss the case, but the filing did not explain the reasoning for the decision.
The court must still formally approve the dismissal and if granted, it would bring an end to the case.
VETERAN ARRESTED FOR BURNING U.S. FLAG BY WHITE HOUSE IS A FAMILIAR FACE TO NORTH CAROLINA
Carey, in a statement released by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, following AP reaching out, stated that the protest was intended to highlight constitutional protections for free speech.
“I set out to demonstrate that the First Amendment is sacred and that no administration has the right to supersede our constitutional rights,” Carey said in the statement. “I was targeted for federal prosecution because of that. I am glad to stand with all those who are fighting for our fundamental rights and hope that this victory can help the next person who takes a stand.”
As previously reported, this is not the first time the disabled veteran from western North Carolina has made his name known across the country.
In March 2025, Carey made national and international headlines after being escorted out of a town hall led by Congressman Chuck Edwards, who currently represents the state’s 11th congressional district.
MARCH 13, 2025 – An attendee of Rep. Chuck Edwards’ town hall in Asheville, North Carolina, is escorted out of the auditorium. (Photo: WLOS Staff)
“I’m a veteran and you don’t give a f–k about me,” Carey shouted at Edwards, as seen in a CNN clip that went viral on social media.
At the town hall, more than 2,000 people showed up outside the Ferguson Auditorium at Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College, a venue that has a capacity f less than 400.
As previously reported, numerous constituents expressed their concerns with Edwards throughout the town hall, with some points of contention including federal funding cuts, Medicare, the Russia-Ukraine War and tariffs.
The town hall lasted around 80 minutes.
Carey spoke with News 13 after the incident.
“I was seeing red,” Carey told News 13 in March 2025. “I was angry, and I wasn’t going to be silenced.”
As previously reported, Carey also ran for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in 2021.
VETERAN ESCORTED OUT FROM TOWN HALL SPEAKS ON FRUSTRATIONS WITH CONGRESSMAN EDWARDS
According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Carey ranked third in the 2022 Democratic primary for the U.S. House North Carolina District 11.
Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who became the Democratic nominee, lost to the current Rep. Chuck Edwards in the general election, garnering 144,165 votes against Edwards’ 174,232 votes.
Edwards claimed victory again in the 2024 race for the state’s 11th congressional seat and is now running again, against Democratic nominee Jamie Ager.
