RNC flag burner sues Cleveland, InfoWars for 2016 convention arrest

[DonViejo]

Source: Cleveland.com




Updated 5:56 PM; Posted 8:45 AM

By Eric Heisig, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man whose case set Supreme Court precedent over the constitutionality of burning the American flag -- and whose flag-burning activities led to his arrest during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland -- is suing Cleveland for what he said are his violated free-speech rights.

Gregory "Joey" Johnson is also suing the conspiracy website InfoWars and its operator, Alex Jones. Joseph Biggs, a former InfoWars employee, and Jordan Salkin, who still works at the site, are also named as defendants in the suit. They were listed as victims in the documents that charged Johnson with a crime. Johnson's suit says the pair lied about their injuries, and pointed to a YouTube video Biggs made that said he was an aggressor, not a victim.

Johnson, of San Francisco, was charged with first-degree misdemeanor assault after he set fire to an American flag during a July 20 protest on Prospect Avenue and East 4th Street, near one of the security entrances for the RNC. City prosecutors dropped the charge in January 2017, and 15 others arrested in the melee eventually had their charges dismissed.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in federal court in Cleveland, says city police officers lied when they said Johnson set himself on fire. Johnson claims police officers scrambled to find a charge to cover up what was a violation of his free-speech rights.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2018/01/rnc_flag_burner_sues_cleveland.html