Several American flags were torn down in Cape Cod the same day that President Donald Trump ordered his administration to “vigorously prosecute” anyone who desecrates the “most sacred and cherished symbol” of the U.S.
Police in Yarmouth, Massachusetts on Monday found eight American flags “forcefully ripped from the fencing” on a bridge commemorating former Marine and two-time Purple Heart recipient Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr., who died in a motorcycle accident in 2015 after serving in Afghanistan.
At least three flags were “ripped apart at the seams,” authorities said.
The incident marks the second destruction of flags at the bridge in two months. Donovan’s father put up these flags to replace the ones that were vandalized in July, police said.
“This is wrong. This is disgraceful. And we must hold whoever is doing this accountable,” Massachusetts state Rep. Steve Xiarhos said in a statement. “We cannot tolerate this kind of disrespect toward our veterans, their families, or our American flag.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey also condemned the act.
“Destroying the American flag isn’t a statement — it’s a disgrace,” she told Boston 25 News. “It’s an insult to everyone who’s ever fought to defend it, and it will not be tolerated. Lance Corporal Donovan was a hero, and my heart goes out to his loved ones. I’ll always stand with our veterans and their families.”
It’s not immediately clear whether anyone has been arrested or charged in connection with the vandalism. The Independent has asked Yarmouth Police for more information.
The same day the flags were destroyed, Trump signed an executive order that empowered the attorney general to “vigorously prosecute” those who desecrate the American flag.
The order states the attorney general may also “pursue litigation to clarify the scope of the First Amendment exceptions in this area,” setting up a challenge to the 1989 Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson, which determined flag burning was protected by the First Amendment.
In a 5-4 decision, Justice William Brennan wrote for the majority: “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”
Despite the long-standing Supreme Court precedent, the president on Monday said burning a flag would result in a year in jail.
The executive order quickly sparked controversy on both sides of the aisle.
In a statement, Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin called the order a “joke,” pointing out that Trump granted pardons to “violent insurrectionists who themselves used the American flag as a weapon to attack and beat American police officers” defending the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“This new executive order is a joke and yet another example of Trump’s Gangster State in action: Use violence and intimidation against the government to take office, and use violence and intimidation once in government to entrench yourself. Trump knows nothing about patriotism,” Raskin continued.
Conservative broadcaster Erick Erickson remarked in a social media post: “While I agree with the sentiment, it is unfortunately well settled constitutional law that burning the flag is a matter of free speech and the executive does not get to create crimes.”
Conservative podcaster Jesse Kelly went so far as to brand the order as “garbage.”
“I would never in a million years harm the American flag. But a president telling me I can’t has me as close as I’ll ever be to lighting one on fire,” Kelly said on X. “I am a free American citizen. And if I ever feel like torching one, I will. This is garbage.”
