LSU Student Reportedly Plans to Burn American Flag on Campus

A student at Louisiana State University (LSU) is planning on burning an American flag on campus today, the schools student government president said. And since he followed the proper university procedure to stage his protest, the event will not face any official pushback. But that doesn't mean the act won't face patriotic counter-demonstrations. It will.

According to the student newspaper The Reveille, the pyro protest by communication studies graduate student Benjamin Haas is slated for 1 pm ET today.

That's according to Cody Wells, student government president. "We're going to respect his First Amendment right to burn our American flag," he told the Reveille.

But Haas isn't the only one who is planning a protest. Wells said he and others will also be holding their own "peaceful assembly in response to recent flag burnings." The reason for the plural "burnings" comes after a student was arrested last week for cutting down and burning the American flag flying over the university's war memorial.

Wells's event will include the Pledge of Allegiance as well as the National Anthem. He tells the student paper tht he has a trumpet player lined up for the ceremony and also hopes to have cadets present.

Just as Haas will be exercising his right to burn the flag, Wells said, he and others will "exercise our own First Amendment rights"