President Donald Trump signed a group of govt orders on Monday that focus on jurisdictions with cashless bail insurance policies and encourage the Justice Division to prosecute people who burn the American flag.
Trump and Lawyer Common Pam Bondi have been cautious to notice that the flag-burning order was not meant to run afoul of a 1989 Supreme Court docket determination that narrowly affirmed flag-burning as protected speech beneath the First Modification.
Throughout a signing ceremony within the Oval Workplace, Trump made the fully baseless declare that flag-burning is inflicting widespread riots.
“All over the country, they’re burning flags. All over the world, they burn the American flag,” Trump mentioned.
“As you know, through a very sad court, I guess it was a 5-4 decision, they called it ‘freedom of speech,’” Trump mentioned, referencing the 1989 Texas v. Johnson ruling.
“But there’s another reason which is perhaps much more important — it’s called death,” Trump mentioned. “Because what happens when you burn a flag is the area goes crazy. If you have hundreds of people, they go crazy.”
“When you burn the American flag, it incites riots at levels we’ve never seen before,” he mentioned.
MANDEL NGAN through Getty Photos
The textual content of the order means that the Justice Division will take into account whether or not destruction of the American flag constitutes “violent crimes; hate crimes, illegal discrimination against American citizens, or other violations of Americans’ civil rights; and crimes against property and the peace, as well as conspiracies and attempts to violate, and aiding and abetting others to violate, such laws.”
It additionally tells the Justice Division to refer particular situations of flag-burning that may violate native regulation — equivalent to open burning restrictions — to the suitable native authorities.
Bob Daugherty through Related Press
Different govt orders addressed one other conservative pet peeve: cashless bail.
Washington, D.C., was among the many first locations within the nation to eradicate money bail three a long time in the past as a result of civil rights considerations. Critics say that money bail results in disproportionate adverse results on the poorest people, lots of whom are individuals of coloration, who might lose jobs or housing if they’re compelled to stay behind bars whereas prices towards them are pending. Rich people, conversely, have a neater time paying bail and going about their lives whereas their circumstances work their means by way of the courts.
Illinois, New Jersey and New Mexico have additionally cracked down on money bail.
Considered one of Trump’s orders permits Bondi to withhold federal funding and grants to jurisdictions across the nation with such insurance policies.
The president mocked the lawmakers who help cashless bail, claiming falsely that it leads to murderers being launched from custody and subsequently skipping city.
Opposite to Trump’s claims, individuals who commit violent crimes should be held behind bars till trial, as decided by a decide.
Two different govt orders focused Washington, D.C., particularly.
One encourages regulation enforcement officers to carry extra individuals in federal custody as a substitute of native custody, the place they could possibly be freed pending trial.
One other directs Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth to additional surge personnel to the district, establishing specialised items of Nationwide Guard troops to “assist Federal, State and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order.”
The directive gives additional proof that Trump will attempt to crack down on supposed crime in different main metropolitan areas, equivalent to Chicago, by sending within the Nationwide Guard.
