President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that demands mandatory jail time for anyone caught burning or disrespecting the American flag.

According to the order, any person who burns or desecrates the flag will face a full year in prison without any chance of early release or lighter punishment. The directive also tells Attorney General Pam Bondi to take legal action in all such cases and challenge the historic Supreme Court ruling that currently protects flag burning as a form of free speech.

That ruling, from the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson, said that even though flag burning may upset people, it’s a protected form of political expression under the First Amendment. The decision was confirmed again in 1990 in United States v. Eichman.

But now, Trump wants to undo that legal protection through executive action something many legal experts say a president does not have the power to do.

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Critics are calling this move an attack on free speech. The civil liberties group FIRE said the president “can’t cancel constitutional rights with an executive order.” Others worry this could be the start of dangerous censorship, especially since the order also targets non-U.S. citizens, threatening them with visa cancellation and deportation if they disrespect the flag.

Analysts also pointed out the irony: Trump is going against the views of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative judge who strongly believed in protecting free speech even if that meant defending the right to burn the flag.

For now, the order is expected to face strong legal challenges, and it’s unclear if courts will allow it to take effect. But one thing is certain: the debate over patriotism and free expression is heating up again and Trump is right at the center of it.