A former Tennessee law enforcement officer is taking legal action against his local county and sheriff after he was arrested and held in jail for over a month for sharing a meme on Facebook related to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The Arrest and 37-Day Incarceration
According to a detailed 30-page lawsuit filed this week, Larry Bushart, 61, commented on a Facebook post about a vigil for Charlie Kirk in Perry County, Tennessee, ten days after Kirk's killing on 10 September. His comment included an image of former President Donald Trump alongside a remark Trump made following a 2024 school shooting in Perry, Iowa: “We have to get over it”. Bushart captioned it: “This seems relevant today”.
The following day, police arrived at Bushart's home. He was taken into custody and charged with “threatening mass violence at a school”. Unable to pay the extraordinarily high $2 million bond, Bushart remained in jail for 37 days before the charge was dropped and he was released in late October.
Sheriff's Defence vs. Plaintiff's Claims
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems claimed at the time that some residents interpreted the meme as a threat to the local Perry County High School, despite it referencing a different Perry High School in Iowa. Weems told local media the post caused “multiple people” to become “scared to send their kids to school”. He acknowledged his office knew the meme referred to an out-of-state event but stated “the public did not know”.
The lawsuit, filed with support from the non-profit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), strongly disputes this. It asserts Bushart “had no inkling or reason to think that anyone would take it as a threat of violence” and alleges the sheriff and county “have produced no evidence that any person interpreted the Meme as a threat”. It further notes the Perry County school district has no records concerning Bushart or the post.
Legal Action and Broader Implications
Bushart's lawsuit targets Sheriff Nick Weems, Perry County, and investigator Jason Morrow, who it claims obtained the arrest warrant at Weems's direction. It alleges violations of Bushart's First and Fourth Amendment rights. Bushart is seeking a jury trial, along with compensatory and punitive damages, citing the loss of his post-retirement medical transportation job due to his incarceration.
In a statement, Bushart said: “I spent over three decades in law enforcement, and have the utmost respect for the law. But I also know my rights, and I was arrested for nothing more than refusing to be bullied into censorship.” FIRE senior attorney Adam Steinbaugh warned, “if police can come to your door... and put you behind bars based on nothing more than an entirely false and contrived interpretation of a Facebook post, no one’s first amendment rights are safe.”
This case emerged amidst a national trend where dozens across the US faced employment or disciplinary action over social media posts about Kirk's death, as authorities cracked down on remarks deemed inappropriate.
