DUNCANSVILLE — A man won’t be prosecuted for painting the letters “AIM” on an American flag he then flew upside down on his house last year because the gesture amounts to constitutionally protected speech, a central Pennsylvania judge ruled.

The Blair County judge’s ruling, issued last week, agreed with Joshua Brubaker, 38, of Allegheny Township, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Allegheny Township police charged Brubaker with two flag desecration crimes — maliciously hanging or taking down a flag and mutilating a flag — after then-assistant township Chief Leo Berg and two motorists said they were offended by the display. Police also seized the flag, which Brubaker said he plans to display again once it’s returned.