Reply #117: The problem is...

[regnaD kciN]

- "intimidating". Loose and vague, this would be quite difficult to apply, and a free speech defense would likely prevail.

...that, while such an argument might prevail in court, it would be comparatively easy to get someone arrested on such a charge. (You'd just have to tell a police officer at the scene that you were feeling "intimidated" by this, and they'd have all they need to make an arrest.) That means that the flag-burner would get hauled off and probably spend the night in jail, plus have to come up with the funds for a lawyer, take time off their work for the trial, etc., etc.

And you never know when you might find yourself before a right-wing judge who would decide to "make an example" of you. Now, such a guilty verdict might well be overturned at the appeals court level (where most such precedent is set), but it takes a lot of money to get there, and few defendants convicted in the lower court would be able to afford it.