President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute flag burning, despite a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that protects the act as free speech.
The order acknowledges the Court’s 5-4 decision in Texas v. Johnson but argues that flag burning can still be punished if it “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.” Trump claimed flag burning “incites riots” and announced penalties of up to one year in jail without early release.
The order also imposes immigration consequences, stating foreign nationals who burn the flag could face visa revocation, deportation, or loss of residency and citizenship applications.
In its 1989 decision, the Court — with conservative Justice Antonin Scalia in the majority — affirmed flag burning as protected political expression under the First Amendment. Trump dismissed that ruling as “very sad,” insisting the act represents “contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation.”
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