Watch: Man detained after setting American flag ablaze near White House

The Federal authorities arrested a man near the White House after burning the American flag in a bid to protest against Donald Trump’s executive order on flag desecration that he signed on Monday, August 25.

In a video posted by the news outlet CNN, the man identified himself as a 20-year combat veteran. According to the man, he burnt this flag as a protest against the order that he called illegal.

According to Secret Services, the man was arrested in Lafayette Square on the grounds of “igniting an object”, not for violating the order. Later, he was handed over to US Park Police.

The incident came after the hours when the US President signed an executive order aimed to crackdown on American flag desecration incidents that lead to violence.

“When you burn the American flag, it incites riots at levels that we’ve never seen before. People go crazy," Trump said.

The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute those people who violate the sanctity of the American flag while engaging in other offenses.

However, the Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that the Constitution protects the burning of the American flag under the First Amendment.