Trump proposes jail time, 'loss of citizenship' for anyone who burns the American flag

President-elect Donald Trump may want to start consulting the Constitution before he logs onto Twitter. On Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted that flag burning, an act constitutionally protected as free speech, should be a punishable offense:
Though it's not entirely clear what prompted Trump to tweet about flag burning, Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs noted it might have something to do with Trump's upcoming meeting with Fox News' Pete Hegseth:
The constitutionality of flag burning has been challenged before. In June 1990, the Supreme Court declared that laws "against desecrating the flag are unconstitutional," Time reported. And in 2012, the late Justice Antonin Scalia explained that flag burning, while he personally disagreed with it, is undeniably "a form of expression" protected under the First Amendment. "It is addressed in particular to speech critical of the government," Scalia said of the First Amendment. "I mean, that was the main kind of speech that tyrants would seek to suppress."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal