Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Laurie Kellman at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article.
President Trump signed an executive order challenging the Supreme Court’s longstanding protection of flag burning as free speech, seeking to push the issue back to a court that now has a conservative majority.
Trump’s executive order:
• Directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to “vigorously prosecute” flag-burning cases that violate content-neutral laws while causing harm unrelated to expression.
• Focuses on incidents involving hate crimes, violence or property damage.
• Could result in visa revocation, deportation or other immigration consequences for foreign nationals.
• Does not actually set penalties for flag burning itself, acknowledging constitutional limitations.
Supreme Court precedent:
• In 1989’s Texas v. Johnson case, the Court ruled 5-4 that flag burning constitutes protected expressive conduct under the First Amendment.
• Justice Antonin Scalia joined the majority opinion despite personally opposing flag burning.
• The majority opinion stated that punishing flag desecration would “dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents.”
• Congress later passed a law criminalizing flag burning, but the Court struck it down.
READ MORE: Trump’s order on flag burning could return the question to the Supreme Court
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