He defended himself by invoking the First Amendment and the use of symbolic speech (AEI). The Supreme Court eventually took up this case and Johnson was found to be innocent. Flag burning shouldn’t be illegal as it is an example of symbolic speech which is protected by our Constitution. Furthermore, the national flag of America represents the freedoms Americans have, including the right to protest what we believe is wrong or unfair. Burning the national flag is an example of a protest, which is a right provided by the Constitution. Moreover, the burning of the flag is often used as a form of political protest. For example, “Supporters of the “NYC Revolution Club” burn the flag outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York, November 29, 2016.” They were protesting one of Donald Trump's most recent tweets, “Those who burn the American flag should face legal consequences or lose their citizenship”. Another example is in 2016 Cleveland police officers arrested Gregory Johnson as he used his first amendment rights to protest the rising authoritarian Donald