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."
Subscribe to 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
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate change
In the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling