The order, which was signed on Monday, acknowledges a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that declared flag burning a free speech expression but asserts that it “could incite immediate lawless action”.
As Trump signed the order, Trump said, “If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail, no early exits, no nothing.”
He continued, “You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record, and you will immediately see flag burning stop.”
Free speech organizations have criticized the action because Trump wants to establish a system with few restrictions and a vision of executive power.
The Free Speech Campaigners FIRE stated in a statement that “President Trump may believe he has the power to revise the First Amendment with the stroke of a pen.”
Even though many Americans, including the president, find protected expressive activity to be “uniquely offensive and provocative,” the government can’t prosecute it, it continued.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is ordered to prosecute those responsible for flag burning “to the full extent possible” by the executive order on Monday.
Without any supporting evidence, the order asserts that foreigners burn flags to threaten and intimidate Americans. Additionally, the order threatens deportation, deportation, and more for foreign nationals who do so.
According to the order, burning flags amounts to “incitement” or “fighting words,” with Trump claiming that burning flags “incites riots at levels we’ve never seen before.”
This claim has been refuted by legal experts because there is no supporting supporting evidence.
Source: Aljazeera
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