On Independence Day, protestors outside the White House set fire to an American flag while chanting, “America was never great.” One person involved in the demonstration was arrested for malicious burning and felony assault on a police officer, while another was arrested for hindering a police investigation and resisting arrest.
Though it is not illegal to burn an American flag, the Secret Service told the Associated Press that the “burning occurred beyond the limits of a permit issued by the National Park Service. ”
Shortly after his election in 2016, President Donald Trump suggested that people who burn the American flag should lose their citizenship or spend a year in jail.
More than one-third of adults agree: 36% would support stripping US citizenship from Americans that burn or desecrate the flag.
Roughly two-thirds (67%) of Republicans support this idea, while just 29% of independents and about a quarter of Democrats feel the same. A majority of both Democrats and independents are opposed to revoking US citizenship for flag-burners.
In general, Republicans may have stronger feelings about America’s flag. YouGov research finds that Republicans (68%) are nearly twice as likely as Democrats (36%) to say they are “patriotic” in their political views.
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