A man who identified himself as Jay Carey, a 20-year Army combat veteran, was arrested Monday evening after igniting an American flag in Lafayette Park, directly across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Secret Service agents extinguished the fire around 6:15 p.m. and transferred Carey to the U.S. Park Police, which charged him under regulations that prohibit unauthorized fires on federal property. The demonstration came only hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to “vigorously prosecute” flag desecration when it accompanies violence or other illegal acts. Announcing the measure, Trump said: “You burn a flag, you get one year in jail,” signalling a push for tougher penalties despite long-standing constitutional protections. Park Police said Carey’s arrest was based solely on the fire-safety violation, not the new order. The incident immediately tests the administration’s effort to restrict a form of protest the Supreme Court safeguarded in its 1989 Texas v. Johnson decision, raising the prospect of fresh legal battles over the scope of First Amendment rights.