Desecrating a flag means a person on purpose and in public damages, disrespects, or destroys the U.S. flag or the Missouri state flag. This is a class A misdemeanor, which is a lesser criminal offense.
Note: Courts have held this law unconstitutional under the First Amendment (Texas v. Johnson, 1989; Snider v. City of Cape Girardeau, 2014), so it is not currently enforceable.
Classifications stated in the statute. Actual outcomes vary.
578.095. Desecration of flags — . — 1. A person commits the of desecrating a flag if he or she and publicly , , , tramples upon or otherwise the flag of the United States or the state flag of the state of Missouri.
2. The offense of desecrating a flag is a .
Tap any gold-underlined word to see what it means.
Source & history notes
(L. 1980 H.B. 965 § 1, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491) Effective 1-01-17 (2014) Section is overbroad and is facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Snider v. City of Cape Girardeau, 752 F.3d 1149 (8th Cir.)
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Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.