Is flag burning a hate crime or protected speech?

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Trump's renewed calls to jail American flag burners clashes with court precedent

President Trump proposes one-year jail sentences for burning American flags and claims he's working with Congress on legislation, though flag burning remains constitutionally protected

www.foxnews.com

By Ashley Oliver Fox
President Donald Trump revived calls this week for people who burn American flags to go to jail after demonstrators in California were seen torching them and waving Mexican flags in protest of the administration carrying out immigration enforcement operations in the state.

"I happen to think if you burn an American flag, because they were burning a lot of flags in Los Angeles, I think you go to jail for one year, just automatic," Trump told the New York Post.

Flag burning in the United States is neither unlawful nor unconstitutional. Offenders can only be punished under the law for flag burning if they are committing another crime at the same time, such as violating fire safety laws or burning flags that they stole.

18 U.S.C. 245: Federal Protections Against Hate Crimes

Learn how 18 U.S.C. 245 defines federal protections against hate crimes, outlining enforcement, penalties, and the legal framework for prosecution.

legalclarity.org

Protected Classes​

The law specifically protects individuals from violence or intimidation based on race, color, religion, or national origin when such acts interfere with federally protected activities. These classifications reflect a longstanding commitment to combating discrimination in critical aspects of public life. Unlike some other federal hate crime statutes, this law does not cover bias-motivated crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity unless they intersect with other federal protections.

The inclusion of race and national origin builds upon prior civil rights legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment. Courts have interpreted these provisions broadly, recognizing that racial animus often manifests in violent attempts to suppress participation in public life. For example, in United States v. Roof, federal prosecutors used hate crime laws to prosecute Dylann Roof for the racially motivated mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Religious protections complement other federal statutes, such as the Church Arson Prevention Act, which criminalizes attacks on places of worship. Courts have upheld these protections, emphasizing that individuals must be free to practice their faith without fear of violence. Federal prosecutors have used this statute in cases involving attacks on synagogues, mosques, and churches, reinforcing the government’s role in addressing religiously motivated violence.

Comment:
Flag burning if protected under the 1st amendment.
However flag burning could be considered a hate crime against "national origin"
National origin is a protected class.

 

[Mack The Finger]

Comment:
Flag burning if protected under the 1st amendment.
However flag burning could be considered a hate crime against "national origin"
National origin is a protected class.

What about having a open fire in public ?

 

[Oddball]

Protected speech, as is my flying of a rebel flag.

 

[JWBooth]

The act is protected speech. Destroying public or personal property is not.

 

[Crepitus]

Trump's renewed calls to jail American flag burners clashes with court precedent

President Trump proposes one-year jail sentences for burning American flags and claims he's working with Congress on legislation, though flag burning remains constitutionally protected

www.foxnews.com

By Ashley Oliver Fox
President Donald Trump revived calls this week for people who burn American flags to go to jail after demonstrators in California were seen torching them and waving Mexican flags in protest of the administration carrying out immigration enforcement operations in the state.

"I happen to think if you burn an American flag, because they were burning a lot of flags in Los Angeles, I think you go to jail for one year, just automatic," Trump told the New York Post.

Flag burning in the United States is neither unlawful nor unconstitutional. Offenders can only be punished under the law for flag burning if they are committing another crime at the same time, such as violating fire safety laws or burning flags that they stole.

18 U.S.C. 245: Federal Protections Against Hate Crimes

Learn how 18 U.S.C. 245 defines federal protections against hate crimes, outlining enforcement, penalties, and the legal framework for prosecution.

legalclarity.org

Protected Classes​

The law specifically protects individuals from violence or intimidation based on race, color, religion, or national origin when such acts interfere with federally protected activities. These classifications reflect a longstanding commitment to combating discrimination in critical aspects of public life. Unlike some other federal hate crime statutes, this law does not cover bias-motivated crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity unless they intersect with other federal protections.

The inclusion of race and national origin builds upon prior civil rights legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment. Courts have interpreted these provisions broadly, recognizing that racial animus often manifests in violent attempts to suppress participation in public life. For example, in United States v. Roof, federal prosecutors used hate crime laws to prosecute Dylann Roof for the racially motivated mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Religious protections complement other federal statutes, such as the Church Arson Prevention Act, which criminalizes attacks on places of worship. Courts have upheld these protections, emphasizing that individuals must be free to practice their faith without fear of violence. Federal prosecutors have used this statute in cases involving attacks on synagogues, mosques, and churches, reinforcing the government’s role in addressing religiously motivated violence.

Comment:
Flag burning if protected under the 1st amendment.
However flag burning could be considered a hate crime against "national origin"
National origin is a protected class.

This is very simple:

Protesting the government is protected by the first amendment, burning a US flag is protesting the government and thus protected.

Burning some flags could be considered a hate crime if you are doing it to hurt people and not as political commentary.

For instance I could see a problem with burning a flag at a military funeral.

 

[Mack The Finger]

Protected speech, as is my flying of a rebel flag.

The Confederate Battle flag gives me anxiety but as long as it legal I have no problem with people flying it for whatever reason.

The Union GOV IMHO should have ban'd all rebel flags after winning the war.

Like German ban'd all nazi stuff after WWII.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

4 could be charged with hate crimes for destroying LGBTQ+ pride flags, Atlanta police say

Atlanta police say three men and a juvenile could face hate crime charges for pulling down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cutting them up.

apnews.com

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police said Tuesday that three men and a juvenile could face hate crimes charges after they pulled down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cut them up at an intersection known as the center of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

Police say they got calls at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning that six males were causing a disturbance near the corner of Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street, an intersection in the city’s Midtown neighborhood that is painted with rainbow crosswalks to honor its importance in Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.

The men coordinated their plan and drove to Atlanta from their locations northwest of the city, police said. Officers are still looking for two of the six people who they believe took part.

Investigators initially told news outlets that the men had pulled down flags outside Blake’s on the Park, a bar near the intersection, cutting them up with a knife and taking videos of what they were doing. The males fled from police on motorized scooters, investigators said, with officers catching and arresting four of them.

Comment:
Burning the pride flag is a hate crime.
So why not the American flag?

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

This is very simple:

Protesting the government is protected by the first amendment, burning a US flag is protesting the government and thus protected.

Burning some flags could be considered a hate crime if you are doing it to hurt people and not as political commentary.

For instance I could see a problem with burning a flag at a military funeral.

National origin is a protected class
Many people find flag burning to be offensive.

 

[1srelluc]

Well, if you burn your own US flag it's protected. If you burn my US flag (or one funded by tax-payers) it should be considered a Class III felony.

 

[Crepitus]

National origin is a protected class
Many people find flag burning to be offensive.

I don't think that is the case.

And I find burning the American flag offensive, but I understand why it's allowed.

 

[TemplarKormac]

Both. It's against the law and free speech.

It's codified as a federal crime, but it is never enforced, and yet it is protected speech under the First.

 

[TemplarKormac]

 

[Oddball]

4 could be charged with hate crimes for destroying LGBTQ+ pride flags, Atlanta police say

Atlanta police say three men and a juvenile could face hate crime charges for pulling down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cutting them up.

apnews.com

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police said Tuesday that three men and a juvenile could face hate crimes charges after they pulled down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cut them up at an intersection known as the center of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

Police say they got calls at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning that six males were causing a disturbance near the corner of Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street, an intersection in the city’s Midtown neighborhood that is painted with rainbow crosswalks to honor its importance in Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.

The men coordinated their plan and drove to Atlanta from their locations northwest of the city, police said. Officers are still looking for two of the six people who they believe took part.

Investigators initially told news outlets that the men had pulled down flags outside Blake’s on the Park, a bar near the intersection, cutting them up with a knife and taking videos of what they were doing. The males fled from police on motorized scooters, investigators said, with officers catching and arresting four of them.

Comment:
Burning the pride flag is a hate crime.
So why not the American flag?

"Hate crimes" shouldn't exist at all....Claiming protected status for what you believe to be a "hate crime" just legitimizes the foolishness.

 

[toobfreak]

Is flag burning a hate crime or protected speech?​

• If you are an American who goes to Mexico and burns the Mexican flag, it is a hate crime punishable under law.

• If you are a Mexican coming here to burn the American flag, then it becomes protected speech.

You can hang the flag wrong, you can desecrate it by letting it touch the ground, but you are protected in stomping it with your muddy feet in contempt before burning it?

I think we ought to rethink that.

 

[Rigby5]

Comment:
Burning the pride flag is a hate crime.
So why not the American flag?

What made it illegal was that the flags destroyed were stolen and did not belong to the burners.
If they had only burned their own property, it would have been legal most likely

 

[Rigby5]

• If you are an American who goes to Mexico and burns the Mexican flag, it is a hate crime punishable under law.

• If you are a Mexican coming here to burn the American flag, then it becomes protected speech.

You can hang the flag wrong, you can desecrate it by letting it touch the ground, but you are protected in stomping it with your muddy feet in contempt before burning it?

I think we ought to rethink that.

The person making the political protest is actually trying to get people to fix a problem with the country, and that actually is making all other flags mean more, if they are successful in being heard?

You do not honor a republic by ignoring problems.

 

[BluesLegend]

4 could be charged with hate crimes for destroying LGBTQ+ pride flags, Atlanta police say

Atlanta police say three men and a juvenile could face hate crime charges for pulling down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cutting them up.

apnews.com

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police said Tuesday that three men and a juvenile could face hate crimes charges after they pulled down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cut them up at an intersection known as the center of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

Police say they got calls at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning that six males were causing a disturbance near the corner of Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street, an intersection in the city’s Midtown neighborhood that is painted with rainbow crosswalks to honor its importance in Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.

The men coordinated their plan and drove to Atlanta from their locations northwest of the city, police said. Officers are still looking for two of the six people who they believe took part.

Investigators initially told news outlets that the men had pulled down flags outside Blake’s on the Park, a bar near the intersection, cutting them up with a knife and taking videos of what they were doing. The males fled from police on motorized scooters, investigators said, with officers catching and arresting four of them.

Comment:
Burning the pride flag is a hate crime.
So why not the American flag?

WTF is a pride flag, is that a new country??

 

[BluesLegend]

• If you are an American who goes to Mexico and burns the Mexican flag, it is a hate crime punishable under law.

• If you are a Mexican coming here to burn the American flag, then it becomes protected speech.

You can hang the flag wrong, you can desecrate it by letting it touch the ground, but you are protected in stomping it with your muddy feet in contempt before burning it?

I think we ought to rethink that.

Well, Mexico is a corrupt shithole full of criminals.

 

[Dante]

Is flag burning a hate crime or protected speech?​

Ask Scalia

next

 

[drudge X]

Burn a blm or pride flag, Democrats will demand hate crime charge. Burn a Mexican flag and you’re a racist. Burn an American flag and you’re a hero to leftists.