The Supreme Court has long held that flag burning is protected expressive conduct under the First Amendment. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing one-year jail sentences for flag burning and directed the Attorney General to prosecute such acts to the fullest extent. The order acknowledges the 1989 ruling but asserts flag burning can incite imminent lawless action and claims, without evidence, foreign nationals use it to intimidate Americans. The order also threatens visa revocation and deportation for foreign participants. Free-speech groups condemn the order as violating civil liberties and reiterated that protected expressive activity cannot be prosecuted.
United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order punishing those who burn the country's flag with one year in jail, despite a longstanding court ruling that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. The order, signed on Monday, acknowledges the 1989 Supreme Court decision, which found that flag burning is protected as free speech, but argued that it is likely to incite imminent lawless action.
If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail; no early exits, no nothing, Trump said as he signed the order. You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record, and you will see flag burning stopping immediately, he added. The move has been condemned by free speech groups who say that the order violates key civil liberties, as Trump pursues a vision of executive power with few constraints.
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