President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that mandates prosecution of those caught burning the American flag as a form of intimidation, a practice described by the White House as “uniquely offensive and provocative.”

“My Administration will act to restore respect and sanctity to the American Flag and prosecute those who incite violence or otherwise violate our laws while desecrating this symbol of our country, to the fullest extent permissible under any available authority,” the order says. 

Leading up to Monday’s order, viral instances of public flag burning have become much more prominent. Below is a list of several recent flag burnings. 

September 2023: Avowed communists protest Jason Aldean

Outside a concert by country music star Jason Aldean, members of RevCom (Revolutionary Communist Party), which believes in creating a Marxist revolution in America, burned American flags in protest of a song released months earlier by Aldean. 

Revolutionary Communists burning U.S. flags in Chicago outside a Jason Aldean concert on Sept. 9, 2023. (Screenshot/News2Share)

Aldean’s track “Try That In A Small Town” caused controversy when left-wingers learned that the music video for the song was filmed outside a Tennessee courthouse where a lynching occurred nearly a century prior. 

June 2022: Pro-choice protesters in D.C.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, groups of pro-choice protesters burned an American flag in the streets of Washington, D.C. 

The Supreme Court decision returned the power to regulate abortions back to individual states. 

Pro-choice protesters in Washington, D.C. burned the American flag on following the Supreme Court decision which reversed Roe v. Wade. (Lisa Bennatan/Fox News Digital)

“Our great American Flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, and of American freedom, identity, and strength,” Trump’s order said. “Over nearly two-and-a-half centuries, many thousands of American patriots have fought, bled, and died to keep the Stars and Stripes waving proudly.

“Burning this representation of America may incite violence and riot. American Flag burning is also used by groups of foreign nationals as a calculated act to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans because of their nationality and place of birth.”