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Gregory “Joey” Johnson of Texas v. Johnson Responds to Trump Threats to Re-Criminalize Flag Burning: #July4BurnFlag / #FlagBurningChallenge
For immediate release
Gregory “Joey” Johnson available for interviews
Contact: 323.245.6947 / DefendJohnsonOfTvJ@gmail.com
As #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter protests spread across the country, President Donald Trump has threatened to militarily suppress the protests, and also to re-criminalize flag burning, which has become part of many protests. Earlier this month, Trump asked the Supreme Court to reconsider Texas v. Johnson, the 1989 ruling that made flag burning constitutionally protected speech. During Trump’s June 20 Tulsa rally, he said, "We ought to come up with legislation that if you burn the American flag, you go to jail for one year," and called flag burning “desecration.” Trump condemned protesters in Portland who he said, “ripped down a statue of George Washington and wrapped in an American flag, and set the American flag on fire.”
Gregory “Joey” Johnson, the defendant in Texas v Johnson, has responded to President Donald Trump's call to re-criminalize flag burning:
“Fuck Donald Trump!" Johnson says. "He’s a fascist, a white supremacist, a misogynist, and a xenophobic, jingoistic, American chauvinist imperialist. I have nothing but contempt for him and support for the hundreds of thousands who are in the streets and staying in the streets following the brutal and sickening police murder of George Floyd. This has rocked Trump’s fascist regime back on its heels and now the regime is trying to re-seize the initiative through threats and repression.
“I am determined to defy Trump on July 4th," Johnson states, "by burning an American flag at a fitting symbol of Trump and his fascist regime. And I'm calling on everyone who stands against injustice and oppression to join me. Be safe, don't endanger others, but wherever you are in this country or around the world, help make this July 4th a day of defiant flag burning actions! Then let others know by posting photos and videos on social media with the hashtags #July4BurnFlag and #FlagBurningChallenge.
BACKGROUND/MEDIA COVERAGE
The New York Times has called Johnson “America’s Most Famous Flagburner.” His 1989 Supreme Court case (Texas v Johnson) upheld the constitutional right under the First Amendment to burn the American flag in protest. In June, Johnson won a $225,000 legal settlement from the city of Cleveland stemming from his 2016 arrest for burning an American flag at the Republican Convention as Trump was being nominated.
On July 4, 2019, Gregory “Joey” Johnson was arrested for burning an American flag in front of the White House. The charges were later dropped.
- Revcom.us JULY 4, 2019: IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT AMERICA A Call to Act
- Washington Examiner, June 24 “’Burn that rag!’ Activists to desecrate the flag at Trump July Fourth rally”
- USA Today, July 1 What to expect at the Washington DC 4th of July: Army tanks, a burning flag and Baby Trump
- Washington Post, July 2 “The ‘Baby Trump’ balloon is coming to Washington, but don’t look up to see it,”
- New York Times, June 15 Cleveland Is Paying $225,000 to a Man Who Burned the American Flag
Joey Johnson is an active member of the Revolution Club and a follower of the revolutionary communist leader Bob Avakian. For more go to revcom.us.
July 4, 2019—In the face of Mein Trumpf's militarist orgy the burning flags light up a different future
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