Gregory Lee " Joey " Johnson , then a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade , participated in a political demonstration during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas , of the Reagan Administration and of certain companies based in Dallas . They marched through the streets , shouted chants , destroyed property , broke windows and threw trash , beer cans , soiled diapers and various other items , and held signs outside the offices of several companies . At one point , another demonstrator handed Johnson an American flag stolen from a flagpole outside one of the targeted buildings When the demonstrators reached Dallas City Hall , Johnson poured kerosene on the flag and set it on fire . During the burning of the flag , demonstrators shouted such phrases as , " America , the red , white , and blue , we spit on you , you stand for plunder , you will go under , " and , " Reagan , Mondale , which will it be ? Either one means World War III . " No one was hurt , but some witnesses to the flag burning said they were extremely offended . A spectator , Daniel E. Walker , gathered the remains of the flags and buried them in the backyard of his home in Fort Worth
1984 Republican National Convention
1984 Republican National Convention
Texas v. Johnson