Gregory "Joey" Johnson

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man whose case set Supreme Court precedent over the constitutionality of burning the American flag -- and whose flag-burning activities led to his arrest during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland -- is suing Cleveland for what he said are his violated free-speech rights.

Gregory "Joey" Johnson is also suing the conspiracy website InfoWars and its operator, Alex Jones. Joseph Biggs, a former InfoWars employee, and Jordan Salkin, who still works at the site, are also named as defendants in the suit. They were listed as victims in the documents that charged Johnson with a crime.

Johnson's suit says the pair lied about their injuries, and pointed to a YouTube video Biggs made that said he was an aggressor, not a victim.

Johnson, of San Francisco, was charged with first-degree misdemeanor assault after he set fire to an American flag during a July 20 protest on Prospect Avenue and East 4th Street, near one of the security entrances for the RNC. City prosecutors dropped the charge in January 2017, and 15 others arrested in the melee eventually had their charges dismissed.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in federal court in Cleveland, says city police officers lied when they said Johnson set himself on fire. Johnson claims police officers scrambled to find a charge to cover up what was a violation of his free-speech rights.

"Through its police force and prosecutors (who swear to uphold the Constitution), and assisted by all-too-willing extremists (who believe physical assault on flag-burners is their patriotic duty), the City censored Mr. Johnson and retaliated against him for exercising the same First Amendment freedom to burn an American flag under the same circumstances the Supreme Court declared was his right nearly 30 years ago," the lawsuit says.

(You can read the full lawsuit here or at the bottom of this story.)

Subodh Chandra, Johnson's attorney, said at a news conference Thursday that the city did not properly train the officers that flag-burning is legal, and distributed training material to officers that ordered them to be on the lookout to quickly extinguish any fires during the protests.

Watch: press conference for RNC flag burner Joey Johnson, who sued Cleveland on accusations that the police violated his civil rights Posted by cleveland.com on Thursday, January 11, 2018

The lawsuit also lists city safety Director Michael McGrath, police Chief Calvin Williams and several police officers as defendants. It is asking a federal judge to declare that Johnson's constitutional rights were violated, to bar them from violating others' rights again and for an unnamed amount of damages.

He also wants his flag back.

Messages left Thursday with the city and InfoWars for comment were not immediately returned.

A rush of people descended on a circle formed by members of the Revolutionary Communist Party after Johnson, a member, set the flag on fire.

The officer doused the blaze with a small fire extinguisher. In all, police arrested 18 people.

Officials said a police supervisor and a State Highway Patrol trooper were pushed and punched during the altercation and suffered minor injuries. Police arrested others who failed to leave the scene after Williams issued a dispersal order to the crowd.

Chandra, however, said "there was no safety issue whatsoever."

Reports of Johnson's arrest list Biggs and Salkin as victims because both suffered burns on their left hands. The affidavit of probable cause identifies the men as members of the media.

But in a video posted by Jones, Biggs claimed that he attacked Johnson as the flag burned.

In an August 2016 interview with cleveland.com, Biggs said his attacking Johnson never happened, despite the fact that the video clearly shows him claiming that he punched and kicked Johnson. Instead, Biggs said "I wish I would have, since I was so angry."

Johnson also burned an American flag at the 1984 RNC in Dallas, which led to a U.S. Supreme Court opinion that said flag burning is constitutionally-protected speech.

At the news conference, Johnson said the employees from InfoWars falsified the police reports that led to his prosecution. He called Biggs and Salkin's actions "malicious" and labeled them as "fascists."

The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr.

Cleveland.com reporter Adam Ferrise contributed to this story.

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