The order would require the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those who burn the American flag.
On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order that requires the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people that burn the American flag.
The United States Supreme Court has previously ruled that flag burning is a legitimate political expression protected by the Constitution. The ruling was a 5 to 4 decision in a case from Texas in 1989.
The order signed by President Trump acknowledged the court’s ruling, but said there is room to prosecute flag burning if it “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.”
“You burn a flag, you get one year in jail. You don’t get 10 years, you don’t get one month. You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record, and you will see flag burning stopping immediately,” Trump said.
The order calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue litigation to challenge the Supreme Court’s 1989 ruling.
The justices ruled 5 to 4 that the First Amendment protects flag burning as legitimate political expression. Justice Antonin Scalia was in the majority in the 1989 ruling.
At the signing of his executive order, Trump said burning the American flag “incites riots at levels we’ve never seen before,” and people are “going crazy” when seeing the symbol.
A White House fact sheet referenced protests that occurred in Los Angeles in June, where the flag was burned “alongside violent acts and other conduct threatening public safety.”
The executive order says that desecrating the American flag is “uniquely offensive and provocative. It is a statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation – the clearest possible expression of opposition to the political union that preserves our rights, liberty, and security. Burning this representation of America may incite violence and riot.”
The order says foreign nationals could have their visas, residency permits, naturalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits revoked. Deportation is also possible for those found guilty of burning an American flag.
