The First Amendment is what gives the people of the United States their freedom and the 8 Values of Expression further define these freedoms. Freedom from and of religion as well freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition are the 6 Clauses of Freedom.
Under the First Amendment, speech is protected, you can't be punished by anyone for anything you might say. Under the First Amendment, action is unprotected. There are certain actions that can get you punished.
There is also a middle ground, referred to as expressive action. Expressive action is an action intended to convey a message to an audience. Under the First Amendment, expressive actions are protected because they are treated as speech more than action.
January 6th, 2021 will be a day to remember in US history, the storming of the United States Capitol. Thousands of Trump supporters gathered that day in Washington D.C. in protest on the vote to formalize Joe Biden's victory as president.
.jpg)
Around noon on the 6th, Thousands walked to the Capitol and hundreds breached police perimeters. For hours, the crowd occupied the building, and vandalized and looted it. With security breached, Capital police evacuated the Senate and House of Representative Chambers.
There were at least 5 confirmed deaths and an unknown number of rioters injured, but at least 5 had to be hospitalized. At least 138 police were injured, 73 being Capitol police and 65 were Metropolitan police, including at least 15 officers who needed to be hospitalized. From everything stolen to vandalized, the damage is estimated to be $30 million. Read more about everything that happened that day here.
The key thing many people forget about the first amendment is one small word.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
"Peaceably"
The reason, a controversial one, why burning a flag falls under expressive action is because it is an action that embodies the thought of a feeling. When a flag is privately owned, the owner should be allowed to do whatever they want with it, even if it's meant to protest.
What isn't being used is force, a flag is being burned, peaceably, no one is getting hurt. Opposed to the storming, which wasn't peaceably, and many people got hurt. As part of investigations, over 400 case files were opened, over 500 subpoenas, and search warrants have also been issued. More than 400 people have been charged with federal crimes.
The First Amendment protects people from a lot of things, but not everything.