On Monday night, Gregory “Joey” Johnson was about to get on the bus to D.C. for his Tuesday court date related to his Fourth of July flag burning protest when he got the news: prosecutors had dropped the charges entirely.

“That was a very good development,” Johnson tells DCist. “The charges were outrageous to begin with. There’s a Supreme Court decision I know a little bit about that says I have the right to do this.”

Johnson is referring to the case Texas v. Johnson, which establishes that flag burning is protected First Amendment speech. And yes, he is that Johnson.

While Johnson was originally arrested for felony assault on a police officer and malicious burning, he was never charged with those crimes. During his arraignment in July, he pleaded not guilty to two disorderly conduct charges: one for inciting violence and one for creating a dangerous situation.

The office of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine acknowledged in a statement that, after evaluating the evidence against Johnson, it “determined that it is appropriate to dismiss the charges against Mr. Johnson. While our office does not condone Mr. Johnson’s behavior, we will not proceed in the prosecution of this matter.”

The National Park Service granted Johnson a permit in Lafayette Square on July 4 “to burn a U.S. flag as a symbol of imagining a world without America.” Johnson was joined by other members of the Revolutionary Communist Party, a four-decade-old group that advocates for the overthrow of capitalism in the U.S.

A group of counterdemonstrators, including far-right groups like the Proud Boys, clashed with Johnson and other protesters. As counterdemonstrators tried to prevent Johnson from burning the flag, members of the Revolutionary Communist Party formed a protective circle around him. “We were attacked repeatedly by MAGA fascists,” says Johnson. He clarifies that he believes counterdemonstrators had every right to protest his flag burning, but “don’t have the right to interfere with it, and that’s what they were attempting to do.”

Law enforcement got involved after seeing “what appeared to be a crowd of people fighting,” according to the incident report. By that point, counterprotesters had grabbed one already-burned flag. Secret Service officers put out the second blazing flag, per the report.

Johnson and one other Revolutionary Communist Party were arrested, but none of the counterprotesters were. Instead, D.C. police escorted them to a bar afterwards.

Earlier this summer, Johnson settled a lawsuit with the city of Cleveland for $225,000 after he was arrested for burning the flag there in 2016. “I’m certainly looking into” a similar lawsuit against D.C., he says.

Pointing to President Donald Trump’s support for an amendment to ban flag burning, Johnson says that the First Amendment, and the right to burn the flag specifically, is under attack.

“The core of the First Amendment is your right to criticize the government,” says Johnson. “I want to make it clear: burning the American flag is not a gimmick—it’s a serious condemnation of the system. We’re all indoctrinated from kindergarten to bootcamp, and the crimes and atrocities and suffering that is associated with the flag is hidden from us.”

Previously:
White House Flag Burner Won’t Face Felony Assault Or ‘Malicious Burning’ Charges After All
D.C. Police Officers Fist Bumped A Proud Boy After Clashes In Front Of White House
July 4: Two Arrests, A Deflated And Re-Inflated Protest Balloon, And An Apolitical Salute To America