(NEXSTAR) — An executive order signed Monday calls for the Justice Department to “vigorously prosecute those who desecrate” the American flag, sparking bipartisan pushback. It has also led to questions about what consequences you may face if you’ve been found to have “desecrated” the flag.
Within hours of President Donald Trump signing the order, a man was arrested after he allegedly set an American flag on fire in a federal park outside of the White House. Park Police said the man violated a code that prohibits fire in public parks.
The man appeared to identify himself in a video published by The Bulwark. He said he served for more than 20 years in the U.S. Army and explained that he burned the flag “as a protest to that illegal fascist president that sits in that house,” The Hill reported Tuesday.
Cracker Barrel releases statement following backlash over rebranded logo
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in 1989 that burning the American flag is an act of political expression protected by the Constitution. Trump’s executive order acknowledged that ruling, but said there is still room to prosecute flag burning if it “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.”
He also called for Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue litigation to challenge the 1989 ruling.
Trump said burning the U.S. flag “incites riots at levels we’ve never seen before,” with some people “going crazy” over the act of setting it afire and others expressing anger at people for burning it. He did not offer examples. A White House fact sheet referenced recent protests, including in Los Angeles in June, where the flag was burned “alongside violent acts and other conduct threatening public safety.”
As for the consequences of burning the flag, Trump said Tuesday that it will result in one year in jail.
Trump weighs in on Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce engagement
“You don’t get 10 years, you don’t get one month,” Trump said. “You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record, and you will see flag burning stopping immediately.”
However, the text of the order does not outline that exact punishment. Instead, as the New York Times wrote, it points to a section in the Supreme Court’s ruling that said burning the flag in protest of the government does not equate to an action that can be prosecuted.
Foreign nationals could face having their visas, residency permits, naturalization proceedings and other immigration benefits revoked, according to the order. They could also be deported.
The order also stipulates that if an incident could result in prosecution for violating local laws — like lighting a fire in a public park — the Justice Department should refer the case to “appropriate state or local authority for potential action.”
Trump faces MAGA backlash for saying he’ll let 600,000 Chinese students into US
G.S. Hans, a law professor at Cornell University who focuses on the First Amendment, said the country has not suffered from an “endemic of flag burning.”
“I don’t think this is something that has been a big problem,” Hans said in an interview. “It’s a solution in search of a problem.”
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume also called out Trump’s executive order, writing on X that it “flies in the face of constitutional speech protections.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Comments