Authorities in Washington, D.C., arrested a man on Monday for setting an American flag on fire outside the White House, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order intending to stop flag burning.
A video shared on X by news outlet The Bulwark shows the suspect, standing in front of the White House, identifying himself as a 20-year combat veteran in the U.S. Army.
“I’m burning this flag as a protest to that illegal fascist president that sits in that House,” he said, pointing at the White House from where he stood in Lafayette Square.
“We burn this flag in protest to that president, who feels like it’s his right to do whatever he wants, make whatever law he wants, regardless of whether it’s legal or illegal,” he continued as he gestured towards the White House, the flag burning at his feet.
The Secret Service told NBC News in a statement that it detained the man “for igniting an object” before turning him over to U.S. Park Police.
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Park Police told the outlet they arrested the man for breaking a law that prohibits lighting a fire in a public park.
Hours before the arrest, the president signed an executive order intended to clamp down on the burning of the flag as an act of protest.
“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. Desecrating it is uniquely offensive and provocative,” the order states, adding that setting it on fire is a statement of “contempt, hostility and violence” against the country.
The order instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to “vigorously prosecute” those who destroy the American flag, and permits her to “pursue litigation to clarify the scope of the First Amendment exceptions in this area.”
Burning the American flag is a protected right under the U.S. Constitution.
Trump’s order does not make burning the American flag a crime or outline a specific punishment for it, but says that setting fire to a flag in a manner that could provoke illegal activity, such as violence, is not protected by the Constitution.
While signing the order, Trump told reporters, “When you burn the American flag, it incites riots at levels that we’ve never seen before. People go crazy.”
He then verbally stated that you face one year in prison if caught burning the American flag.
The flag-burning clampdown marks just one of the Trump administration’s efforts to minimize opposition to his government’s anti-crime laws, which have led to the deployment of the national guard in Washington, D.C., as well as a crackdown on low-level lawbreaking, including charging a man with felony assault for throwing a submarine sandwich at an on-duty officer.
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