In Texas v. Johnson, the Court classified burning the flag as which type of speech?

• A. Political speech
• B. Commercial speech
• C. Obscene speech
• D. Symbolic speech

Answer: (D)

Symbolic speech refers to actions that express an idea or message, not just spoken or written words. In Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court held that burning the American flag as a political protest communicates a political viewpoint and is protected by the First Amendment as symbolic speech. The Court explained that the act conveys a message about government policy, and the government cannot prohibit such expressive conduct simply because it is offensive. This protection applies even though the act is nonverbal, because it is a form of political expression. It isn’t about selling something (commercial speech) or about obscenity, so those categories don’t fit. The key takeaway is that the flag-burning event was treated as expressive conduct conveying a political message, hence symbolic speech.