OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:27 AM – Monday, August 25, 2025
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, eliminating cashless bail for arrested suspects in Washington, D.C., while also ordering prosecution for individuals who desecrate the American flag.
One executive order targets jurisdictions, including Washington, D.C., that have adopted cashless bail systems. The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify jurisdictions with such policies and to identify federal funds that could be suspended or eliminated in those areas.
In D.C., Trump’s administration is pushing for pretrial detention and federal custody to override cashless bail, with the threat of withholding federal funds or services.
The latest executive order on cashless bail follows the president’s decision to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy the District of Columbia National Guard in an attempt to curb crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital.
“We’re going to be essentially crime-free. This is going to be a beacon, and it’s going to also serve as an example of what can be done. We have to get rid of this cashless bail nonsense,” Trump stated earlier this month.
“Every place in the country where you have no-cash bail is a disaster,” he continued. “I mean, bad politicians started it, bad leadership started it. But that was the one thing that’s central. No-cash bail. Somebody murders somebody and they’re out on no-cash bail before the day is out.”
D.C. implemented its cashless bail system in 1992, allowing judges to determine whether individuals charged with crimes pose a risk to the community. Several states have since eliminated or nearly eliminated cash bail, including Illinois, New Mexico, and New Jersey.
“We’re ending it, but we’re starting by ending it in D.C.,” Trump stated. “And that we have the right to do through federalization.”
Meanwhile, during a Monday morning segment on Fox News, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro similarly argued that cashless bail “is when all of the problems started,” as criminals are being released and then they “are reoffending, and they’re reoffending again.”
Simultaneously, President Trump also signed a separate executive order directing prosecutors to investigate U.S. flag-burning incidents as criminal acts.
“If you burn a [U.S.] flag, you get one year in jail, no early exits, no nothing. You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record and you will see flag burning stopping immediately,” Trump stated while signing the executive order on Monday. “Some people would say it’s more important than protecting our monuments, because the people in this country don’t want to see our American flag burned and spit on by paid agitators.”
“What it does is incite to riot,” Trump continued. “You will see flag burning stopping immediately.”
The flag-burning executive order also authorizes the detention and removal of foreign nationals “wherever there has been an appropriate determination that flag desecration by foreign nationals permits the exercise of those remedies under applicable law,” according to a White House fact sheet obtained by Fox News.
“The American flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, and desecrating it is uniquely and inherently offensive and provocative. It is a statement of contempt and hostility toward our Nation, and an act used by groups of foreign nationals calculated to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans,” the fact sheet read.
In a 1989 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court found that burning the American flag is protected under the First Amendment. However, President Trump directed Bondi to identify a case challenging the Supreme Court’s 1989 decision.
“They’re burning all over the country. They’re burning flags all over the world. They burn the American flag,” Trump stated while signing the executive order. “And as you know, through a very sad court –I guess it was a 5-4 decision – they called it freedom of speech.”
“You can do other things,” Trump continued. “You can burn this piece of paper, you can. But when you burn the American flag, it incites riots at levels that we’ve never seen before. People go crazy, in a way, both ways. There are some that are going crazy for doing it.”
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!Sponsored Content Below