A retired Tennessee police officer was jailed for 37 days for sharing a meme on Facebook about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Larry Bushart settled the lawsuit for $835,000, dismissing the lawsuit against Perry County, Sheriff Nick Weems and Investigator Jason Marrow under the agreement announced Wednesday, May 20.
Authorities agreed there was no crime and agreed that the county insurer would pay the settlement.
Bushart was arrested in September, 10 days after the murder of a political activist during an event at Utah Valley University.
The meme included a photo of President Donald Trump with the quote: “We have to get over it.” The context of the meme originated from Trump’s 2024 statement following a shooting at Perry High School in Des Moines, Iowa.
Bushart added a caption while sharing the meme: “This seems relevant today.”
The post was reportedly considered to be threatening to Perry County High School in Tennessee. Officers arrived at Bushart’s residence the next day and arrested him on charges of “threatening mass violence at a school.”
Because Bushart could not post $2 million bail, he remained in jail for thirty-seven days before the district attorney dropped the case against him in late October.
Of the agreement, Bushaart said: “I am pleased that my First Amendment rights have been vindicated. The freedom of the people to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy.”
