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You can't separate the two things like that. Lighting a flag on fire is political speech and the administration has said they will charge people who light the flag on fire. The fact that the thing he lit on fire on federal property was the flag is absolutely legally relevant here. It will be a major part of his defense, as they will try to argue that the law he has violated is placing an undue burden on his freedom of speech. It will be the thing the entire case hinges on.
This is important because it's fairly easy to make laws against all the things involved in a protest and then say "oh we aren't charging them for protesting, we are charging them for obstructing the view by holding a sign."
You can absolutely separate the two. Things don't suddenly stop being a crime just because the flag is involved. If he had done this anywhere else other than property where it's specifically illegal to start fires, this would be a different conversation.
Like, I can't go into the California woods and start a fire whenever I want, regardless of whether the thing that's burning is the flag.
All that being said, this is absolutely the trump administration punishing him for burning the flag, because any other president would have just ignored it.
No. You cannot.
The act explicitly was done in protest. As an act of first amendment protected speech, as flag burning was explicitly determined to be by the supreme court.
The application of these laws is purely political. Used solely because the object burned was the flag. Intent is always included in prosecuting criminal acts. It is often the determining factor in whether laws even apply.
Burning a flag a California forest is a false equivalency. And for the most part, yes, you could go out into the forest and burn a flag. It would be stupid and you would be liable for any damages you caused if it started a wildfire. You wouldn't be prosecuted just for burning the flag.
The entire premise on first amendment speech applying here is super important, because if you can make it criminal to do something related, like starting a fire at all, you have, in effect, made that act of free speech illegal. This is crucial. Fundamental.
Alrighty, I'm going to go burn a flag in the movie theater in protest tomorrow. Surely the judge will throw out the charge.
If you don't do any harm. All the theater goers know your about to light it and can leave if they don't want to be there and it's done as a form of protest.
Why do you keep using an example where its potentially significantly dangerous?
You can keep doing what-about-isms all day. This was a clear first amendment protected act and the charges are being used to punish political speech.
sounds like trump double speak 101