President Donald Trump on 25 Aug 2025 signed an executive order instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute individuals who burn or otherwise desecrate the American flag. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said, “If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail, no early exits, no nothing,” and predicted the measure would halt the practice “immediately.” The order directs the Justice Department to enforce federal, state and local laws “to the fullest extent possible,” pursue litigation to clarify the limits of First Amendment protection, and refer cases to local authorities when appropriate. It also authorises immigration agencies to deny or revoke visas, residency and naturalisation benefits for non-citizens involved in flag desecration. A separate order signed the same day seeks to roll back cashless-bail policies in Washington, D.C., and other jurisdictions. Free-speech advocates warned that the directive conflicts with the Supreme Court’s 5–4 ruling in Texas v. Johnson (1989), which held that burning the U.S. flag is protected political expression. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said the move “revises the First Amendment with the stroke of a pen” and is likely to face immediate legal challenges. Hours after the signing, a military veteran was detained in Lafayette Park for setting fire to a U.S. flag, underscoring the potential confrontations to come. The White House has not detailed how the promised one-year jail sentence would be mandated, and legal scholars expect courts to test the order’s constitutionality.