Overview

• Signed Aug. 25, the order tells Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate and prosecute flag desecration when conduct causes harm unrelated to expression, and to refer cases that implicate state or local laws to local authorities.
• It instructs the Justice Department to pursue litigation designed to revisit Texas v. Johnson and U.S. v. Eichman, the rulings that protect flag burning as expressive speech.
• The order authorizes immigration actions against foreign nationals who desecrate the flag, including denial or revocation of visas, residency or naturalization, and potential removal.
• At the Oval Office signing, Trump said, “If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail,” arguing such acts can incite riots and invoking incitement and fighting‑words theories.
• First Amendment groups and constitutional scholars condemned the move as unconstitutional under existing Supreme Court precedent and signaled immediate court challenges.