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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The Justice Department has moved to dismiss charges against an Army veteran who set fire to an American flag near the White House last year to protest President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> on flag burning.<\/p>\n Jay Carey, 55, of Arden, North Carolina, who has said he served in the Army from 1989 to 2012 and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, was arrested on Aug. 25 after he set fire to a flag in Lafayette Park<\/a>, which the National Park Service oversees. Earlier that day, Trump signed an executive order requiring the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag.<\/p>\n Carey was charged with two misdemeanors that aren\u2019t focused on the act of burning a flag: igniting a fire in an undesignated area and lighting a fire causing damage to property or park resources. He pleaded not guilty<\/a> in September. Friday’s filing did not explain the decision to move to dismiss and the U.S Attorney\u2019s office for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond on Saturday to an email seeking comment.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is a legitimate political expression protected by the Constitution. Trump\u2019s order asserted that burning a flag can be prosecuted if it \u201cis likely to incite imminent lawless action\u201d or amounts to \u201cfighting words.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI set out to demonstrate that the First Amendment is sacred and that no administration has the right to supersede our constitutional rights,\u201d Carey said in a statement from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. “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.\u201d<\/p>\n It shows people that \u201cthe Constitution still matters,\u201d Carey said when reached by telephone on Saturday. <\/p>\n Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, one of Carey\u2019s lawyers and fund co-founder, said the prosecution shouldn\u2019t have been brought.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government\u2019s attempt to criminally punish a protestor based on expressive conduct targeted for prosecution by presidential order posed a grave threat to First Amendment freedoms,\u201d Verheyden-Hilliard said in a statement. \u201cThe government\u2019s about-face is a critical vindication of those rights. This case also lays the groundwork for defending those across the country who are targeted for vindictive prosecution by the Trump Administration in an effort to silence and punish viewpoints it doesn\u2019t like.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n