Overview

• Federal prosecutors charged a North Carolina man with two misdemeanors tied to a Lafayette Park fire, each carrying up to six months in jail, according to UPI.
• The counts include lighting a fire outside a designated area without approved conditions and creating a public hazard that risked damage to park property.
• The U.S. Secret Service detained the individual for igniting an object and transferred him to U.S. Park Police, who cited a prohibited-fire regulation for the arrest.
• President Trump’s executive order instructs the attorney general to prioritize cases using existing, content-neutral laws and referrals, and the president has publicly urged a one-year jail term for flag burners.
• Legal precedent protects flag burning as political speech, civil-liberties groups and legal commentators predict court challenges, and reporting describes divisions within the Republican Party over the policy.