After
closely
reading
the
Constitution,
the
Supreme
Court
informed
us
that
the
speech
the
First
Amendment
protects
comes
in
many
modes.
Speech
may
look
like
an
arm
band
worn
to
protest
a
war
(Tinker
v.
Des
Moines).
Speech
might
even
look
like
corporations
throwing
a
bunch
of
money
at
their
preferred
candidates
(Citizens
United
v.
FEC).
Hell,
Speech
might
even
pop
up
as
something
morally
objectionable
of
unsavory
like
burning
the
American
Flag
(Texas
v.
Johnson).
But
does
any
of
that
matter
if
the
President
decides
to
handwave
away
silly
things
like
“binding
precedent”
or
judicial
review?
Well
no,
so
long
as
you
do
a
little
lipservice
and
pretend
as
if
the
Court
would
be
cool
with
his
carve
out
anyway.
This
is
straight
from
the
White
House:
Burning
[the
American
Flag]
may
incite
violence
and
riot…Notwithstanding
the
Supreme
Court’s
rulings
on
First
Amendment
protections,
the
Court
has
never
held
that
American
Flag
desecration
conducted
in
a
manner
that
is
likely
to
incite
imminent
lawless
action
or
that
is
an
action
amounting
to
“fighting
words”
is
constitutionally
protected.
See
Texas
v.
Johnson,
491
U.S.
397,
408-10
(1989).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.
“May”
is
doing
a
lot
of
work
here
—
many
things
ranging
from
parking
spot
competition
to
an
Eagles
Superbowl
win
“may”
incite
violence
and/or
riot.
Will
there
be
legal
consequences
for
a
hearty
“E-A-G-L-E-S
EAGLES!”
yell
at
AT&T
Stadium?
Things
don’t
suddenly
amount
to
“fighting
words”
just
because
you
imagine
some
eggshell
crowd
member
whose
world
will
upend
if
he
hears
love
for
the
wrong
team
or
if
kerosene
and
sparks
burn
some
“Made
In
China”
Americana
—
which
applies
just
as
well
to
a
football
jersey
or
the
Stars
and
Stripes.
Our
day
to
day
is
so
warped
by
the
Culture
War
that
damn
near
anything
can
be
framed
as
affirming
or
desecrating
our
country.
Just
earlier
this
year,
wearing
masks
for
public
safety
or
not
was
discussed
on
the
level
of
choosing
liberty
or
death:
How
far
is
the
administration
from
deciding
that
mask
wearing
—
unless
it’s
an
ICE
agent,
naturally
—
is
just
as
unAmerican
as
flag
burning
or
not
investing
in
TrumpCoin,
tacitly
blessing
whenever
some
rando
gets
so
mad
about
it
that
they
start
punching
people?
Because
something
as
simple
as
mask
wearing
is
already
being
treated
as
“fighting
words”
by
some:
Fortunately,
we
won’t
have
to
wait
long
to
see
how
game
changing
this
decree
will
be
for
the
right
to
protest
—
a
veteran
has
already
burned
an
American
flag
in
front
of
the
White
House
to
spite
the
order:
ps:Let’s
see
how
strong
whatever
is
left
of
speech
protections
actually
is.
PROSECUTING
BURNING
OF
THE
AMERICAN
FLAG
[Whitehouse.gov]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.