a political message. Country Joe used speech and nonspeech elements to convey his message. First, donning an army uniform, he staged a skit based on his song, "The Persian Gulf Rag." Second, he preached an antiwar sermon that urged people to refuse to fight in the war. Third, he advocated overthrow of the government by those who believed the government was acting in an illegitimate manner, and he urged them to replace it with a socialist regime. Fourth, he removed the army uniform and set it afire.
             Given the facts set before us, it is readily apparent that Country Joe's intention was to convey an antiwar message. Several actions similar to Country Joe's have already been found to be protected expressive conduct in prior cases. In Schacht v. United States, the Supreme Court found Title 18 U.S.C §702 facially unconstitutional because it allowed an actor who wore a military uniform the right to praise the military and its actions, but denied the person the right to discredit the military or its actions in any way. And, if the actor did discredit the military, he or she could be sent to prison for opposing it. The Court found the U.S. Code to be "...an unconstitutional abridgement of the freedom of speech."
             Other cases similar to Country Joe's are Dennis v. United States and Brandenburg v. Ohio. Dennis involved leaders of the Communist Party conspiring and advocating a forceful overthrow of the government. These actions were a direct violation of the Smith Act. The Supreme Court, using the "Clear and Probable Danger Test," found it within Congress's power to protect the Government of the United States from armed rebellion. However, the ruling was not based merely on speech (the advocacy of the overthrow of the government), but instead focused on the act of inciting violence.
             Brandenburg involved the Ku Klux Klan advocating white supremacy. In a Per Curiam decision, the Court ...