Johnson v. Cleveland
Jun 11, 2019OUTCOME: The City of Cleveland agreed to a pretrial settlement reaffirming the right to burn the flag and awarding Mr. Johnson $225,000.
Almost 30 years after setting the U.S. Supreme Court precedent establishing that flag burning is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, Joey Johnson burned another flag in protest at the ... 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. But as soon as the flame was lit, police attacked him, extinguished the flame, and held Mr. Johnson in jail until the convention was over. The Chandra Law Firm LLC brought First Amendment claims against the City on Mr. Johnson's behalf.
