Prosecuting Burning of the American Flag

This Executive Order instructs the executive branch to prioritize enforcing existing criminal and civil laws against acts that desecrate the American flag when those acts also cause harms unrelated to protected expression — for example when they involve violence, property damage, hate or civil-rights violations, or are likely to incite imminent lawless action. It asks the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other agencies to refer possible state or local violations to local authorities, to pursue litigation when needed to define the boundaries of First Amendment protection in this area, and to use available immigration remedies against foreign nationals who engage in qualifying flag-desecration activity. The order does not create a new federal crime; it directs how current executive agencies should prioritize and use existing authorities, and it expressly says implementation must be consistent with the Constitution and available funding. The likely impacts include increased DOJ attention to protests or other conduct that involve flag desecration plus associated unlawful acts, more referrals to state and local prosecutors, possible litigation testing the limits of First Amendment protections for symbolic conduct, and immigration consequences for covered foreign nationals. Civil liberties groups and courts are likely to scrutinize and challenge the order’s practical application and any aggressive enforcement policies that implicate protected speech.