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Trump Orders “Vigorous Prosecution” of People Who Burn U.S. Flag

HeadlineAug 26, 2025
Image Credit: Jennifer Parr/Wikimedia Commons

On Monday, Trump signed a separate executive order mandating that federal agencies “vigorously prosecute” anyone who burns the United States flag. The order also directs administration officials to revoke the visas of immigrants accused of desecrating the U.S. flag. Trump’s order defies a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that determined the burning of a U.S. flag is protected speech under the First Amendment. After Trump signed the executive order, Secret Service agents arrested a person who set a U.S. flag on fire on Lafayette Square, across from the White House. The man identified himself as a combat veteran who served for 20 years. His protest was captured in a video posted to social media by the news outlet The Bulwark.

U.S. Army veteran: “No president can make a law, period. No Congress shall make a law infringing on First Amendment rights. I’m burning this flag as a protest to that illegal, fascist president that sits in that house.”

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