A retired Tennessee law enforcement officer was jailed for 37 days for sharing a meme on Facebook about the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
Larry Bushart settled the lawsuit for $835,000, dropping the lawsuit against Perry County, Sheriff Nick Weems and Investigator Jason Marrow in the deal announced Wednesday, May 20.
Authorities acknowledged there was no wrongdoing and agreed that the county’s insurer would pay the settlement amount.
Bushart was arrested in September, 10 days after the shooting of a political activist during an event at Utah Valley University.
The meme featured a photo of President Donald Trump with the quote: “We need to get over this.” ยป The context of the meme comes from Trump’s 2024 declaration after a shooting at Perry High School in Des Moines, Iowa.
Bushart added a caption while sharing the meme: “This seems relevant today.”
It was reported that this post was considered a threat to the high school in Perry County, Tennessee. Police went to Bushart’s home the next day and arrested him on charges of “threats of mass violence at a school.”
Because Bushart could not post two million dollars bail, he remained in jail for thirty-seven days before the charges against him were dropped by the district attorney in late October.
Of the settlement, Bushaart said: “I am pleased that my First Amendment rights have been recognized. The people’s freedom to participate in civil debate is crucial to a healthy democracy.”
