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RSMo 578.095effective 01 Jan 2017

Desecration of flags

In plain English

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.

Penalties named in this law
class A misdemeanorup to 1 year in jail

Classifications stated in the statute. Actual outcomes vary.

Word-for-word law

578.095. Desecration of flags — . — 1. A person commits the of desecrating a flag if he or she and publicly , defaces, , 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.)

View official source

Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.

RSMo 578.095: Desecration of flags | KnowMo Laws