A U.S. District Court in California has declared 75-year-old veteran Robert Rosebrock not guilty of violating federal law in a prosecution for allegedly displaying two four-by-six inch American flags above a Veterans Affairs fence on Memorial Day 2016. Rosebrock had been charged with hanging the two napkin-sized American flags on a section of the fence adjacent to the entrance to the VA facility in violation of a VA regulation prohibiting the displaying of “placards” or posting “materials” on VA property without authorization.

The court found that the VA failed to meet its burden of proving that Rosebrock lacked permission to post the flags or even that he was the person who displayed them. The VA’s case apparently fell apart when the court concluded that the VA violated Rosebrock’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

According to Judicial Watch, which successfully defended Rosebrock, the court also dismissed before trial two separate charges