November 29, 2016

Forget the First Amendment. Donald Trump Now Wants to Criminalize Flag Burning.

“Perhaps a loss of citizenship or a year in jail!”

Brian Cahn/ZUMA

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In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that flag burning constituted free speech and was therefore protected under the First Amendment—a decision even the late Justice Antonin Scalia agreed with.

President-elect Donald Trump, however, has a different opinion. He tweeted the following proposal on Tuesday:

Trump’s tweet is another terrifying sign of how he may crack down on dissent during his administration, even if it means trampling the Constitution in the process. 

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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