US President Donald Trump wants anyone who burns the American flag to receive a prison sentence. "If you burn the flag, you get a year in prison, no parole, no nothing", Trump said last night at the White House, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
He said that as a result, flag burning would stop immediately.
Yesterday, Trump signed an executive order titled "Prosecution of American Flag Burning". However, it does not include the one-year sentence proposed by the president. Instead, it states that in certain cases, prosecution should be a priority.
US media outlets have cited in their reports a Supreme Court ruling from the late 1980s that ruled that flag burning falls within the scope of freedom of speech protected by the US Constitution.
Trump's executive order appears to be in line with that ruling. "Our great American flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, of American freedom, identity and strength", the executive order states, adding that desecration of the national flag is "extremely offensive and provocative".
If foreigners are involved in the burning, their visas could also be revoked under certain circumstances, the executive order states.