The Man Who Burned the Flag Pleads Not Guilty

 

Remember a Western North Carolina vet named Jay Carey who recently burned a flag across the street from the White House immediately after Jethro signed an exec order requiring the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag? I wrote about Jay Carey at that time. He has an interesting backstory as a Democrat activist and general gadfly, so it wasn't any surprise he'd stick his thumb right in Jethro's eye. 

Last Wednesday he pleaded not guilty to Federal criminal charges of "igniting a fire in an undesignated area" and "lighting a fire causing damage to property or park resources" -- not for specifically burning a flag. See, Trump's handlers know very well that the Supreme Court ruled long ago that burning the American flag is protected speech, so they've made up some shit to punish Jay Carey anyway for saying eff you to the would-be tyrant in the White House. Carey is being prosecuted by newly installed US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, another of those Fox News personalities that Jethro admires.

But who is Jeanine Pirro really? She was hilariously caricatured by SNL cast member Cicely Strong, who made an indelible impression:

If I read the Cardinal & Pine report on Carey's court appearance correctly, the Federal judge in charge of his case as much as invited Carey to make it a Constitutional issue: "Chief Judge James Boasberg set an Oct. 17 deadline for Carey’s lawyers to file a motion to dismiss the case on constitutional grounds." Judge Boasberg is famous for ordering the planes carrying brown people to a gulag in Venezuela to turn around, because their very existence exceeded the Constitutional power of the president. Trump hates Boasberg viciously, and MAGA troops in Congress want to impeach his ass.

But by Gawd, he knows an unconstitutional act when he sees one.

The Man Who Burned the Flag

 

This happened yesterday:

Matt Van Swol

@matt_vanswol

#BREAKING: It has been revealed that the man who set fire to an American flag outside of the White House, is a Western North Carolina resident, army combat veteran, and Bronze Star recipient Jay Carey. He said he burned the flag to "protest President Donald Trump..."

Jay Carey has an interesting career in politics. In September 2021, while he was an active candidate in the Democratic primary for the congressional seat of Rep. Madison Cawthorn, Carey took the photograph that revealed a sheath knife hidden on Cawthorn's wheelchair during his appearance before the Henderson County School Board. Going armed in public became a reoccurring theme of young Cawthorn's brief stint in public office.

In March 2025, Carey got escorted out of a Chuck Edwards town hall for yelling at the congressman: 

"You have nothing to say but lies .... I'm a veteran. You don't give a f--k about me!" Carey is a 20+ year Army veteran who served in the tank corps in Desert Storm and also in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He won a bronze star for his service. He and his wife lost their home in Hurricane Helene.

Now he's in DeeCee actually burning the flag on the sidewalk in front of the White House. The video is on Twitter (https://x.com/matt_vanswol/status/1960353460412358877). He said he set the fire because “it was my right as a citizen … under the First Amendment to protest in whatever way I see fit without hurting anybody.” Carey was fired up (so to speak) by the executive order signed by Jethro that directs federal agencies to “vigorously prosecute” anyone who desecrates the flag. Carey said, “Just to let them know that I was a retired disabled combat veteran who did not believe that it was the president’s right to restrict our First Amendment rights.”

Good for him. The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that burning the flag is symbolic speech protected under the First Amendment. 'Course the current crop of Republican Supremes have a different source of light now, and who knows how far they're willing to let Jethro forage.

We Need More Democrats Who've Been in Battle

 

Photo Starr Sariego, Asheville Watchdog

Jay Carey, the 20+ year Army veteran who was famously thrown out of Congressman Chuck Edwards' townhall in Asheville last Friday, served in the tank corps in Desert Storm and also in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He won a bronze star for his service. In Asheville he was agitated about cuts the Trump administration has made to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He and his wife also lost their home in Hurricane Helene, think that Congressman Edwards has been less sympathetic and less helpful than a fistful of spit, so it's not a surprise that Carey’s also concerned about potential cuts to Medicare and HUD (Housing and Urban Development). 

He told the Asheville Watchdog that he has no regrets about "the expletive-laden tirade he delivered in front of a packed house at A-B Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium": “I think it was necessary. I think it was the only way to really get his attention, and it was the energy that I want to see from everyone — to stand up and to speak back to the representatives that aren’t serving us, as is their duty.”

“I do feel that the days of being cordial and respectful are over, because we’re not being respected,” Carey said. “[Congressman Edwards] is disrespecting us by doing what he’s doing to our community as a whole.”

Carey ran as a political novice in the crowded 2022 Democratic primary for the 11th Congressional District, hoping to take on punk Madison Cawthorn (who got himself knocked out of contention in the Republican primary). Carey took the photo of Cawthorn testifying at a meeting of the Henderson County School Board which revealed the partially concealed sheaf knife that Cawthorn had with him on his wheelchair. That photo caused a stir because coming armed to a school board meeting is actually unlawful.

You can see an unedited video of Carey's outburst here: https://youtube.com/shorts/Md8fDGeK2dQ?si=DxaMPrEoaRMN1Hwg. His challenge to Congressman Edwards starts about a minute in.

And incidentally, I'm not totally sold on this theory yet, but I think Edwards did a cool thing holding that town hall. He knew exactly what he was going to see and hear (in Asheville, of all places! He deliberately chose downtown Ashevagus, the liberal playground of the mountains). You can see in the video linked above the sly little Edwards smile when the crowd boos his statement that he thinks Trump respects the Constitution. He's going to use his treatment as a fundraising tool, and you've got to hand it to him that he never lost his cool. After 90 minutes, Edwards called a halt with these words: “Hey, this has been fun. I really appreciate the energy that you brought, the contradiction of opinions from time to time, the passion that I hear, the patriotism that I sense in this room.” Insincere, but classy.

Another Democrat Wants To Challenge #MadCaw in NC11

 

Jay Carey, a 50-year-old political novice from Hendersonville, has added his name to the growing list of Democrats who'll compete next March in the Democratic primary for the privilege of taking on Republican first-termer Madison Cawthorn in the NC11.

Carey appears to be basing his campaign primarily on his career as an Army combat veteran in the Middle East, and he says he thinks he'll win against Cawthorn because he'll get the independent vote. How that independent vote helps him in a Democratic primary is less clear.

Lurah Lowery of the Hendersonville Times-News got there first with a thorough profile.

Total number of announced Democratic candidates is now up to four in the 11th CD.