Man gets $55K in arrest over spray-painted, upside-down flag
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A central Pennsylvania man arrested for painting the letters “AIM” on an American flag that he flew upside down on his house has settled his civil rights lawsuit for more than $55,000.
The Altoona Mirror reports Friday that supervisors in Allegheny Township, Blair County, have approved letting their insurance company pay the money to Joshuaa Brubaker.
He’s part Native American and says “AIM” stands for the American Indian Movement. He says he flew the flag on his porch in Allegheny Township in May 2014 to protest plans to route the proposed Keystone Pipeline through the site of the Wounded Knee confrontation in South Dakota.
The charges against Brubaker were later dismissed by a judge who agreed his actions were protected speech. The township has advised its police to no longer enforce the state’s flag desecration laws.