U.S. President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order, as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth look on, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
U.S. President Donald Trump points to the FIFA World Cup Trophy during an event in the Oval Office to sign an executive order, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the U.S. attorney general to prosecute those who burned or in any way desecrated the American flag.

"If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail, no early exits, no nothing," Trump said as he signed the order in the Oval Office.

The order instructs the attorney general to "vigorously prosecute" people who violate flag desecration laws and to pursue litigation to clarify the scope of the First Amendment regarding the issue.

It also directs the attorney general to refer flag desecration cases to state or local authorities, and instructs the administration to prohibit and terminate visas, residence permits and naturalization proceedings for those who desecrate the flag.

"The American Flag is a special symbol in our national life that should unite and represent all Americans of every background and walk of life," the order said. "Desecrating it is uniquely offensive and provocative. It is a statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation," it added.

The Trump administration said in the order that First Amendment rulings by the Supreme Court have not protected actions such as American Flag desecration that is likely to incite "imminent lawless action" or actions that amount to "fighting words."

The U.S. Supreme Court held in 1989 that burning or otherwise destroying the nation's flag was protected as a free-speech right.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Andrea Ricci and Andrew Heavens)