Trump plans executive order targeting flag burning

US President Donald Trump is preparing to issue an executive order aimed at curbing the burning of the American flag, NewsNation reported. The measure, expected to be signed on August 21, would direct the Justice Department to examine flag-burning cases to determine whether charges could be pursued under laws such as public nuisance or disorderly conduct, rather than for the act of flag burning itself.

The move comes despite a 1989 US. Supreme Court ruling that burning the flag is a form of political expression protected under the First Amendment. That 5-4 decision struck down flag-burning bans nationwide, and a subsequent congressional attempt to criminalize the act was also overturned, Caliber.Az writes per Bloomberg. 

Trump has repeatedly pushed for penalties, suggesting punishments ranging from prison terms to loss of citizenship. During his third presidential campaign, he floated the idea of a constitutional amendment outlawing flag desecration, and in June 2024 renewed his call while speaking at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

“People that burn the American flag should go to jail for one year. And we’ll see if we can get that done,” Trump said.

Days later, Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, introduced legislation that would add an additional year in prison to federal sentences for crimes involving flag burning.

Attempts to amend the Constitution to prohibit flag desecration have repeatedly fallen short of the required two-thirds majority in Congress. In 2006, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell provided the decisive vote against such an amendment.

Flag burning has long been a polarising issue in the United States, emerging in the 1960s during Vietnam War protests and resurfacing in recent years at demonstrations over immigration enforcement and pro-Palestinian rallies.

During the last presidential campaign, protesters set fire to a US flag outside Washington’s Union Station in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress — an act condemned by both Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

By Sabina Mammadli