Justice John Paul Stevens, a liberal who was the fourth dissenter, wrote separately. The former Navy officer who earned a Bronze Star during World War II, said that even if prior court rulings could shield flag burning as symbolic speech, “this case has an intangible dimension that makes those rules inapplicable.”

President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting flag burning, an issue he has personally complained about for years, has sparked fierce debate as the Trump administration tries to find legal avenues to prosecute flag burners despite a Supreme Court decision that declared the act protected free speech in 1989.

President Trump signed an executive order targeting flag burning, urging prosecutions under related laws. Critics note the Supreme Court has long upheld flag burning as protected First Amendment speech.