Aug. 30 (UPI) — A North Carolina resident, Jan Carey, was charged Wednesday with two misdemeanors after burning a U.S. flag on Monday as a form of protest.
Carey, 54, faces one count of lighting and maintaining a fire in an area not designated for fires and without using an approved receptacle.
She is also charged with creating a public hazard by tending a fire in a way that caused damage to property, including real estate and park resources.
The charges were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis Wolf. Each count carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and fines based on the damage caused.
Carey burned the flag in front of the White House on the same day that President Donald Trump signed an executive order making it illegal to burn the U.S. flag.
After being arrested, Carey told CBS News that she is a veteran and burned the flag in protest of the president’s executive order. She also told WUSA that she wanted to test the new order.
The executive order also directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to challenge a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that said burning the U.S. flag is a form of protected speech.
