Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Texas v. Johnson that burning the American flag is constitutionally protected political expression that states cannot criminalize

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 21, 1989, that Texas could not criminally punish Gregory Lee Johnson for burning an American flag at a political protest. Justice William Brennan's majority — which included conservatives Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy alongside liberals Marshall and Blackmun — held that flag burning is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment and that Texas could not restrict expression simply because observers found it deeply offensive. Chief Justice Rehnquist's dissent called the flag a symbol apart from ordinary political expression that could be protected from desecration without violating the First Amendment.