ACLU agrees: ‘Desecrated’ flag is political speech

The American Civil Liberties Union says a Pennsylvania man who was charged with desecrating his American flag was engaged in legal “political expression.”

The American Civil Liberties Union says a central Pennsylvania man who had his American flag seized after township police charged him with desecrating it was merely engaged in legal “political expression.”

Police contend 37-year-old Joshua Brubaker, of Allegheny Township, Blair County, committed a crime by painting the letters “AIM” on the flag and flying it upside-down on the front of his house — across the street from the police station.

Brubaker says the banner represents the American Indian Movement, a group that works to protect American Indians. Brubaker says he and his wife both have Indian ancestry.

Witold “Vic” Walczak, the ACLU’s legal director in Pennsylvania, says, “This is clearly political expression.”

Assistant Chief L. J. Berg says, “I was very offended when I first saw it.”