Trump signs executive order cracking down on flag burning

Flag desecration has been a longtime target for Trump, who previously called for a constitutional amendment to overturn Supreme Court protections.

By Aaron Sull, Jewish Breaking News

After months of anti-American protests featuring flag burning in cities across the country, President Trump signed an executive order today mandating prosecution of those who desecrate the Stars and Stripes.

“The American flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, and desecrating it is uniquely and inherently offensive and provocative,” reads a White House fact sheet obtained by Fox News Digital.

“It is a statement of contempt and hostility toward our Nation, and an act used by groups of foreign nationals calculated to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans.”

Trump’s executive order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to “vigorously prosecute” anyone who violates laws “in ways that involve desecrating the flag” and to pursue litigation aimed at clarifying First Amendment protections regarding flag desecration.

Bondi will also refer flag desecration cases that violate state and local laws to appropriate local authorities.

Recent flag-burning incidents have sparked outrage across conservative America.

Anti-Israel protesters lit American flags on fire outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last August and again in Washington D.C. when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress in July 2024.

Similar scenes unfolded in New York City’s Washington Square Park over Fourth of July weekend 2024.

More recently, anti-ICE protesters waved Mexican flags while burning American flags in Los Angeles streets during June raids targeting illegal migrants.

Flag desecration has been a longtime target for Trump, who previously called for a constitutional amendment to overturn Supreme Court protections.

However, rather than directly criminalizing flag burning, which the Supreme Court protected as free speech in 1989’s Texas v. Johnson decision, Trump’s order takes a different approach.

Instead, prosecutors will review flag-burning incidents to determine whether charges can be brought under existing laws such as public nuisance, disorderly conduct, or environmental violations.

Foreign nationals face even steeper consequences under Trump’s order. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be directed to “deny, prohibit, terminate, or revoke visas, residence permits, or naturalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits, or seek removal from the United States” for any non-citizen who desecrates an American flag.