Trump wants to prosecute flag burners: "If you burn one, you go to prison for a year."

WashingtonDonald Trump ordered the Department of Justice on Monday to investigate and prosecute all those who "desecrate" the United States flag. The US president wants to punish flag burning and similar gestures, despite the fact that it is protected by freedom of expression and was protected by a Supreme Court ruling in the 1980s. "If you burn a flag, you get a year in jail, no early release, no nothing," Trump said from the Oval Office. The president justifies the decision by arguing that flag burning "is inciting riots."

The executive order signed by the president instructs the administration to investigate flag burning in order to find a case that can be linked to criminal activity and thus circumvent the protection of the First Amendment. Trump wants to find a way to challenge the legality of the right to burn the flag and pressure the courts to reconsider that right. The executive order also calls for the detention and deportation of all migrants accused of such conduct.

Trump was particularly upset with the photographs of the Los Angeles protests, where some protesters burned the U.S. flag while holding the Mexican flag. Residents of the city took to the streets to protest the administration's aggressive immigration raids, which targeted Latin Americans. Images of the riots served as a pretext for the president to send in the National Guard, overriding the authority of California's governor, Democrat Gavin NewsomA court is currently weighing whether Trump abused his power, as the mobilization of troops from this force can only be ordered by the state governor, not the president.

"If we hadn't sent the troops, Los Angeles would have been dead. The Olympics [scheduled for 2028] would have been lost. The World Cup would have been lost [scheduled for next year]. Everything would have been lost by now. He did a great job, we did a great job, we did a great job." He has threatened to do the same in Chicago, another Democratic stronghold.

Special corps of the National Guard

Trump has also signed an executive order asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to create "special units" within the National Guard that "will be specifically trained and equipped to address law and order problems" in Washington. The measure comes just after soldiers have begun patrolling the city's streets with weapons. Until now, the National Guard members have not been armed.

Trump also instructs the Pentagon to make all state National Guard units "available to assist federal and local law enforcement in the event of civil disturbances and to ensure public safety and order when circumstances warrant." The directive adds pressure on Chicago, which Trump has targeted as the next place to deploy the military: "We will go in and fix Chicago within a week." Still, Trump remains unclear about whether he will move forward with this measure in the Democratic city: "I think until I get a request from this guy [Illinois Governor JB Pritzker], I will not do anything."