President Donald Trump on Monday, Aug. 25, signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to prosecute anyone who burns or otherwise desecrates the U.S. flag, declaring that violators must serve a mandatory one-year jail term. The order instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue flag-burning cases "to the fullest extent permissible" and authorizes her, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to consider visa revocations, deportations or other immigration penalties for foreign nationals involved. Trump said the measure will "restore respect and sanctity to the American flag," asserting that such acts can incite riots. The directive immediately collides with more than three decades of Supreme Court precedent. In Texas v. Johnson (1989) and the companion U.S. v. Eichman (1990), the Court held that flag desecration is protected symbolic speech under the First Amendment. Legal scholars and civil-liberties groups said the new order is almost certain to be challenged in federal court and is unlikely to survive. Trump has advocated jail time for flag burning since his first presidential campaign and had floated a constitutional amendment on the issue in 2024. Monday’s order, unveiled alongside separate initiatives targeting cashless bail policies and crime in Washington, D.C., reinforces the president’s law-and-order agenda as preparations begin for the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.