Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley announced Wednesday his support for significantly increasing prison sentences for individuals who burn the American flag while engaged in riotous behavior. Appearing on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Hawley advocated for doubling the prison time for such offenses, linking the act to recent widespread unrest.
Hawley’s comments come amidst widespread protests and unrest that erupted last Friday in Los Angeles following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, later spreading to other major cities. These disturbances saw rioters loot businesses, burn Waymo self-driving cars, and engage in acts of violence.
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During his appearance, Hawley vehemently rejected suggestions that President Donald Trump was to blame for the chaos. “I missed it when Donald Trump went and blew up a car on Highway 101. I didn’t see him when he was assaulting cops,” Hawley stated. He described the rioters as “a bunch of lunatics who were waving the Mexican flag and other flags while they burned our own.”
The Missouri senator then laid out his proposal: “We ought to penalize people who burn the American flag while they’re committing a crime. If you do that, you ought to have your prison sentence doubled. It’s time to get serious with these people. It’s law and order time in America. No more of this nonsense.”
When host Jesse Watters specifically asked if Hawley would support an “extra two years” during the commission of a felony if someone were to burn the American flag, Hawley unequivocally responded, “Absolutely. That’s what I would do. If you want to go burn a flag while you’re up there rioting, while you’re assaulting cops, while you’re blowing up cars, yeah, fine, go right ahead. Spend double the amount of time in prison. That flag means something to Americans. If you think that you can just burn it and get away with it, it’s time that we disabuse them of that notion.”
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The initial ICE raids that sparked the protests targeted “criminal illegal migrants” with histories ranging from second-degree murder to cruelty to a child and domestic violence. According to Border Czar Tom Homan, the Trump administration has arrested 139,000 illegal immigrants since January, with ICE data indicating that three out of four were criminal aliens.
The violence has been met with varied political responses. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, have reportedly attempted to downplay the severity of the unrest. Conversely, President Donald Trump swiftly deployed 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles by Sunday, followed by 700 Marines on Monday.
Hawley’s proposal underscores a growing push among some conservatives for stricter penalties and a “law and order” approach in response to recent civil disturbances across the nation.
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