""We've made it a one year penalty for inciting riots," he said. "We took the freedom of speech away." "Because that's been through the courts, and the courts said you have freedom of speech," he went on, in a serious tone. "But what has happened is when they burn a flag, it agitates and irritates crowds - I've never seen anything like it on both sides - and you end up with riots. So we're going on that basis.""
"Trump appeared to be referring to his August 25 executive order arguing against the decades-old precedent set by the Supreme Court designating flag burning as protected speech. The order claims that the Court didn't say flag burning was protected if it was "conducted in a manner that is likely to incite imminent lawless action." In essence, the administration is seeking to redefine an act of constitutionally protected free speech as "incitement to violence," which does not traditionally enjoy First Amendment cover."
President Donald Trump stated that his administration "took the freedom of speech away" from protesters who burn the American flag and touted an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue prosecutions. The order instituted a one-year penalty for inciting riots and argues that flag burning can be treated as conduct likely to incite imminent lawless action. The administration seeks to reclassify certain acts of flag burning as incitement to violence rather than protected expression. Legal experts called the argument baseless and characterized it as an extremist effort to undermine First Amendment protections established by Supreme Court precedent.
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