On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to use existing laws to prosecute American flag desecration.
The order instructs agencies to “prioritize the enforcement to the fullest extent possible of our Nation’s criminal and civil laws against acts of American Flag desecration that violate applicable, content-neutral laws, while causing harm unrelated to expression, consistent with the First Amendment.”
To be clear, the order does not make flag burning itself illegal. It makes no new laws.
Nonetheless, both the left and the right have rushed to frame this as an attack on free speech and the First Amendment.
The New York Times’ Charlie Savage and Luke Broadwater wrote that “Flag Burning Is Protected Speech.” They warned that revoking visas or deporting noncitizens for burning the American Flag would likely be a violation of the First Amendment. They even cited Antonin Scalia, who said he personally disagreed with flag burning but ultimately ruled to protect the practice.
CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf similarly wrote an article reminding readers that burning the flag is “protected” speech because the Supreme Court said so in a 5-4 decision in 1989. Wolf notes that Trump’s order makes clear that officials should prosecute flag desecration under existing statues, like “hate crimes” and other crimes before going on to spend an entire section discussing the 1989 Texas v. Johnson case.
The Associated Press headlined their piece: “Trump moves to ban flag burning despite Supreme Court ruling that Constitution allows it.” The article included “experts” about free speech and emphasized the Supreme Court’s 1989 ruling.
But when Pride flags are burned, none of these outlets show the same concern for the First Amendment.
When “two rainbow pride flags were set on fire outside of a gay bar” in New York, it was part of a spike in “hate crimes,” as written by The Times’ Sharon Otterman. No mention of free speech, no reminder of Texas v. Johnson or the First Amendment.
In 2019, CNN reported on an Iowa man sentenced to years in prison for burning an LGBT flag that was hanging from a church. The act was treated as a hate crime. Similarly, no mention of free speech or the first amendment.
The AP made no mention of free speech or First Amendment when it wrote how four people were charged with hate crimes after they pulled down and cut up an LGBT pride flag.
Apparently for the propaganda press, the First Amendment lies and dies by the color. Red, white and blue? Protected free speech. But rainbow? Prison.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
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