Trump floats 'loss of citizenship or year in jail' for flag burning

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday floated potential legal consequences for flag burning, which the Supreme Court has previously ruled is a legally protected form of speech.

"Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

The Supreme Court, most recently in 1990, has ruled that flag burning is legally protected under the First Amendment, despite efforts by Congress and President George H.W. Bush to criminalize it.

It's unclear what prompted Trump's tweet Tuesday. It comes amid a contentious debate at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, which has prompted protests. Hampshire decided to stop flying the American flag on its main flagpole after students allegedly burned one following Trump's election.

Though he has rarely appeared in public following his election earlier this month, Trump has taken to Twitter on multiple occasions to criticize political opponents and protesters. Just days after his election, the president-elect railed against supposed "professional protesters, incited by the media."