Trump Brags “We Took Away Freedom of Speech”

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (October 8, 2025) — Former President Donald Trump ignited new controversy Wednesday after boasting that his administration “took the freedom of speech away” while pushing for a one-year prison sentence for Americans convicted of burning the U.S. flag.

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The remarks came during a White House press appearance focused on “Antifa” and domestic terrorism, where Trump claimed that punishing flag burning was necessary to prevent riots.

“We took the freedom of speech away because that’s been through the courts, and the courts said you have freedom of speech,” Trump said. “But when you burn a flag, it agitates and irritates crowds — on both sides — and you end up with riots. So we’re going on that basis.”

Trump on flag burning: We took the freedom of speech away pic.twitter.com/eJ9Bb36rcy

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 8, 2025

Supreme Court Has Repeatedly Ruled Flag Burning Is Protected Speech

Trump’s claim flies in the face of decades of constitutional precedent. In Texas v. Johnson (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that burning the flag is a form of symbolic political expression protected under the First Amendment.

The ruling stemmed from Gregory Lee Johnson’s protest outside the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, where he burned a flag to condemn Reagan-era policies. Justice William Brennan, writing for the majority, affirmed that “the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”

Even conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia sided with the majority, reinforcing that constitutional rights must protect unpopular speech as much as popular speech.

Legal Experts Slam Trump’s Remarks

Legal scholars and civil rights groups immediately blasted Trump’s claim as both dangerous and unconstitutional, noting that no administration can “take away” free speech without violating the Bill of Rights.

“Flag burning has long been ruled protected speech. The notion that a president could ‘take that away’ shows either profound misunderstanding or disregard for constitutional law,” said one First Amendment expert reacting on X (formerly Twitter).

Advocacy groups across the political spectrum—from the ACLU to the Human Rights Campaign—warned that such rhetoric further erodes democratic norms and signals renewed hostility toward civil liberties.

Why This Matters for LGBTQ and Civil Rights Advocates

Trump’s framing of free speech as optional government policy alarmed civil rights advocates, particularly in the LGBTQ community, which has historically relied on free expression to advance equality and protest discrimination.

Analysts warn that normalizing limits on speech could open the door to broader censorship, from Pride flags and political protest signs to journalistic reporting critical of government policy.

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