Stars, Stripes, and Jail Time: “Burn a Flag, Go to Jail,” Says Trump
The president’s executive order threatens jail time for desecrating the Stars and Stripes, setting up a direct collision with decades of Supreme Court precedent.
TwitterPresident Donald Trump has "thrown gasoline" on one of America’s most enduring culture wars: the right to burn the flag.
On Monday, Aug. 25, Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute anyone who desecrates the American flag, including burning, defacing, or trampling it.
The punishment: up to one year in jail.
“If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail,” Trump declared.
“You will see flag burning stop immediately.”
The move puts the White House on a collision course with the Supreme Court.
In 1989’s Texas v. Johnson, justices ruled 5–4 that flag desecration is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.
That decision overturned the Flag Protection Act of 1968, which had been born in the turmoil of the Vietnam War.
Justice William J. Brennan, writing for the majority at the time, argued that the government “may not proscribe particular conduct because it has expressive elements.”
Trump, however, says the issue goes beyond free expression.
“When you burn the American flag, it incites riots,” he told supporters, framing the act as a spark for violence rather than a statement of protest.
Bondi promised to enforce the order “without running afoul of the First Amendment,” though legal experts warn challenges are inevitable.
For critics, the order reopens a painful chapter. For Trump’s supporters, it signals a return to unapologetic patriotism.