WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed an executive order Aug. 25 seeking to penalize people who burn flags, although courts have long upheld the practice as legitimate expression under the First Amendment.
The order aims to prosecute people who burn flags associated with other violence, such as inciting a riot, Trump said.
"If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail," Trump said. "You will see flag burning stop immediately."
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The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful protest. The Supreme Court in 1989 ruled in a 5-4 decision that burning a flag itself is a form of political expression and isn't illegal.
