CLEVELAND (AP) — A protester arrested during a flag burning at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland has sued city officials, police officers and the voice of a conspiracy-minded media outlet claiming false arrest and free speech violations.
Attorneys for Gregory Lee Johnson, of San Francisco, filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Cleveland. Johnson is best known for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said flag burning is protected speech after his arrest during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas.
The lawsuit says Johnson was charged with misdemeanor assault after two men affiliated with media outlet Infowars alleged he struck them during the July 2016 protest. The charge was dismissed in January 2017.
A Cleveland city spokesman and representatives of Infowars didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.