Trump suggests legislation that would jail people who burn the flag for a year | TheHill – The Hill

President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump mocked for low attendance at rally Trump suggests legislation that would jail people who burn the flag for a year Trump makes defiant return to campaign stage amid controversies MORE suggested at his campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday that legislation be proposedtorequire a minimum sentence of a year for anyone who burns the American flag.

We ought to come up with legislation that if you burn the American flag you go to jail for one year, Trump said,pointing to Oklahoma Republican Senators Jim InhofeJames (Jim) Mountain InhofeTrump nominee denounces past Islamophobic tweets Republicans face long odds of changing provision on Confederate-named bases Overnight Defense: Trump plan to pull troops from Germany gets bipartisan pushback | Top GOP senator says it's time to look at changing Confederate-named bases | GOP divided over renaming Army bases MORE and James LankfordJames Paul LankfordTrump suggests legislation that would jail people who burn the flag for a year Most Trump rally attendees opt not to wear face masks White House dismissal of COVID-19 concerns draws criticism MORE in the crowd.

We oughta do it. We talk about freedom of speech but thats desecration.

"We ought to come up with legislation that if you burn the American flag you go to jail for one year ... if somebody wants to burn the American flag and stomp on it, but just burn it, they go to jail for one year" -- Trump pic.twitter.com/sbETQDwUkp

Burning the American flag is not illegal.

In the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the act of burning an American flag is constitutionally-protected free speech under the First Amendment.

The presidenthas suggested similar legislation in the past. However, hisidea has resurfaced recently after several demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd were seen burning U.S. flags.

The death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody, has sparked massive protests across the country, including in front of the White House and throughout the nation's capital.

During a conference call with governors earlier this month, Trump reportedly called the act a "disgrace" and pledged support for an "anti-flag burning" statute.

"We have a different court and I think that it's time that we review that again. Because when I see flags being burned they wanted to crawl up flag poles in Washington and try and burn flags but we stopped them," the President told governors, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN.

"They're weren't able to do it. They would've done it if we didn't stop them. I think it's time to relook at that issue, hopefully the Supreme Court will accept that."

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Trump suggests legislation that would jail people who burn the flag for a year | TheHill - The Hill