--- title: Trump Signs Order on Flag Burning, Which Is Not Illegal description: "If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail," Trump said. His executive order aims to sidestep the First Amendment, which protects flag burning as protected speech canonical: https://time.com/7312047/trump-burning-american-flag-supreme-court/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-08-25T15:55:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-08-25T18:00:54.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Signs Order on Flag Burning, Which Is Not Illegal og:description: "If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail," Trump said. His executive order aims to sidestep the First Amendment. og:url: https://time.com/7312047/trump-burning-american-flag-supreme-court/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d7ee1eeae1de1fb/6998c944a97fc016cba749e5/GettyImages-2231338625.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Signs Order on Flag Burning, Which Is Not Illegal twitter:description: "If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail," Trump said. His executive order aims to sidestep the First Amendment. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d7ee1eeae1de1fb/6998c944a97fc016cba749e5/GettyImages-2231338625.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Signs Executive Order on Flag Burning, Which the Supreme Court Considers Protected Speech > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=988d1dff-49ed-4f97-808b-a2825bf3b155&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=988d1dff-49ed-4f97-808b-a2825bf3b155&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=988d1dff-49ed-4f97-808b-a2825bf3b155&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Aug 25, 2025 6:00 PM UTCPublished: Aug 25, 2025 3:55 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks to the press while signing executive orders, including one related to flag burning, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2025. President Donald Trump speaks to the press while signing executive orders, including one related to flag burning, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2025. Mandel Ngan—AFP via Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Aug 25, 2025 6:00 PM UTCPublished: Aug 25, 2025 3:55 PM UTC President Donald Trump signed an [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/prosecuting-burning-of-the-american-flag/) on Monday directing the Justice Department to pursue criminal penalties against people who “desecrate” the American flag—including by [burning it](https://time.com/3907444/flag-supreme-court-history/)—setting up a direct collision with a landmark Supreme Court ruling that shielded such acts as protected speech. “All over the world they burn the American flag,” Trump said in the Oval Office as he signed the order. “The people in this country don't want to see our American flag burned and spit on and by people that are, in many cases, paid agitators.” While Trump suggested he wanted to charge flag burners in a way that didn’t run afoul of Supreme Court rulings, he also made clear he did not believe flag burning should be viewed as protected speech. "If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail," Trump noted. "No early exits, no nothing… And it goes on your record." The executive order instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute those who burn or desecrate the American flag in ways that cause “harm unrelated to expression, consistent with the First Amendment,” the directive says. “This may include, but is not limited to, violent crimes; hate crimes, illegal discrimination against American citizens, or other violations of Americans’ civil rights; and crimes against property and the peace, as well as conspiracies and attempts to violate, and aiding and abetting others to violate, such laws.” The order also tells the DOJ to refer flag-desecration cases to state and local authorities, even as many of those jurisdictions once relied on statutes the Supreme Court struck down more than three decades ago. The move revives a long-running political fight over patriotism and protest that the Court sought to settle in 1989\. In _Texas v. Johnson_, a 5–4 decision written by Justice William Brennan Jr., the justices held that the First Amendment protects expressive conduct such as burning the American flag. Justice Anthony Kennedy, in a separate concurrence, acknowledged the ruling’s unpopularity but wrote that “the flag protects those who hold it in contempt,” underscoring that constitutional guarantees do not hinge on whether speech is agreeable. **Read More:** [_Why It’s Legal To Burn The American Flag_](https://time.com/3907444/flag-supreme-court-history/) Trump’s order appears designed both to test and to narrow that precedent. “They called it freedom of speech,” Trump said, referring to the decision in _Texas v. Johnson._ “But there's another reason, which is perhaps much more important—it's called death. Because what happens when you burn a flag is the area goes crazy… it incites riots at levels that we've never seen before.” Legal experts were skeptical the order would withstand constitutional scrutiny. “Flag burning as a form of political protest is protected by the First Amendment,” says Robert Corn-Revere, chief counsel of FIRE, a national free speech group. “While people can be prosecuted for burning anything in a place they aren’t allowed to set fires, the government can’t prosecute protected expressive activity — even if many Americans, including the president, find it ‘uniquely offensive and provocative.’” Beyond urging federal prosecutors to bring charges, it directs the administration to take sweeping immigration-related steps against noncitizens who engage in flag desecration—to “deny, prohibit, terminate, or revoke visas, residence permits, naturalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits, or seek removal,” according to the order. “American Flag burning is also used by groups of foreign nationals as a calculated act to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans because of their nationality and place of birth,” the order said. The order describes the flag as “the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States,” calling acts of desecration “uniquely offensive and provocative” and “statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation.” The directive’s immigration provisions broaden the initiative beyond criminal enforcement to civil and administrative penalties that may be more insulated from immediate constitutional challenge, even as they raise their own free-speech questions. Monday’s order arrives after a period in which images of flag burnings have periodically circulated online and on cable news—including at [protests in Washington, D.C.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tItq7xt8lU0) during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, and [in New York’s Washington Square Park](https://www.foxnews.com/us/american-flag-burned-left-charred-bits-july-4) on July 4. Trump has for years called for tougher penalties for flag burning. In a 2024 [Fox and Friends interview](https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-interview-fox-and-friends-team-july-25-2024/), he said people who desecrate the flag should face a one-year jail sentence and has at times floated a constitutional amendment to criminalize the practice. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7312047/trump-burning-american-flag-supreme-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7312047/trump-burning-american-flag-supreme-court/"},"headline":"Trump Signs Executive Order on Flag Burning, Which the Supreme Court Considers Protected Speech","datePublished":"2025-08-25T15:55:35.000Z","dateModified":"2025-08-25T18:00:54.000Z","description":"\"If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail,\" Trump said.","url":"https://time.com/7312047/trump-burning-american-flag-supreme-court/","keywords":["protests","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d7ee1eeae1de1fb/6998c944a97fc016cba749e5/GettyImages-2231338625.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d7ee1eeae1de1fb/6998c944a97fc016cba749e5/GettyImages-2231338625.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-TRUMP","caption":"US-POLITICS-TRUMP","creditText":"Mandel Ngan—AFP via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/protests/","name":"protests"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7312047/trump-burning-american-flag-supreme-court/","name":"Trump Signs Executive Order on Flag Burning, Which the Supreme Court Considers Protected Speech"}}]}] ```