Flag burning has a long history in the U.S. — and legal protections from the Supreme Court

['Joe Hernandez', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] TPR: The Public's Radio 2025-08-27 09:00:00

“But when you burn the American flag, it incites riots at levels that we’ve never seen before. Free speech attorneys note that the Supreme Court has ruled on multiple occasions that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment and say Trump’s effort runs afoul of settled law. David Cole, a professor at Georgetown Law who has represented flag burners in several high-profile cases, said people can legally use the American flag as they see fit. During the Vietnam War, there was a resurgence in flag burning as critics blasted the U.S. government’s ongoing involvement in the conflict. Congress passed the Flag Protection Act of 1968, and by 1989 there were 48 states with laws that in some way restricted the desecration of the American flag.