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Firestorm Books, an anarchist bookstore collective in Asheville, capped off Labor Day with a potluck and burning the American flag.
The event was organized in response to President Donald Trump’s August 25 executive order declaring that his administration will “prosecute those who incite violence or otherwise violate our laws” while burning the flag. (His order suggested it was not meant to infringe upon First Amendment rights the Supreme Court has previously upheld—leading to confusion about how it would actually be enforced.)
Asheville resident and veteran Jay Carey was also arrested after burning a flag in front of the White House last week. (His official charge was for violating an order prohibiting unauthorized fires on federal property.)
Flag burning is “a symbolic transgression that we hope contributes to dispelling the myth that Trump is strong and in control,” the collective that led the event wrote in an email to The Assembly.
Advertised as an “all ages” event, it attracted about 50 people wearing T-shirts with slogans like “Books, not guns” and “Cats against catcalls.” After an hour of noshing on potato salad, chips, and hummus, a Firestorm member brought out a box of small flags and a firepit.
Attendee Elsa Enstrom fondly recalled her father organizing flag burnings when George H.W. Bush was elected. She said she came to Firestorm’s flag burning “to show that I’m not afraid of the totalitarian dictator.”
Megan Ratcliff brought her 3-year-old to the event, which she said she joined for the community. She and her toddler both tossed a flag into the firepit. It felt “symbolic,” she said. “An action of our distress.”
Jessica Wakeman is a freelance reporter based in Asheville.
