Tennessee man arrested for posting meme about Charlie Kirk wins big in lawsuit
Many people were targeted for sharing jokes and memes on social media following Charlie Kirk's death last September, yet one man's brush with the law has left him significantly richer as he's just won a major lawsuit.
There has been major political division since the assassination of controversial far-right activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University last year, as while his death caused significant grief among some of the nation's most important figures, others weren't quite as mournful.
Social media was quickly flooded with posts and memes mocking Kirk and the manner of his death – including the words he uttered before he was fatally shot – and this even extended to some major celebrities who continued to criticize him following the assassination.
As a result, there was significant pushback against any attempt to make light or joke about Kirk's death, prompting people to be 'cancelled' online, lose their jobs, and even have their show taken off network television.
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One man from Tennessee suffered the most significant fate, however, as retired police officer Larry Bushart is understood to be the only individual to have actually been arrested and imprisoned for comments he made about Kirk.
As reported by the BBC, Bushart spend 37 days in prison after being arrested just over a week after Kirk's death, which subsequently resulted in the loss of his post-retirement job and caused him to miss the birth of his grandchild.
His arrest at the hands of the Perry County Sheriff's Office was prompted by a comment he made on Facebook underneath a post regarding a vigil in Kirk's honor, where Bushart shared a meme referencing a quote from Donald Trump, declaring: "We have to get over it."
The quote in question came from Trump's response to a school shooting in Perry, Iowa — with Bushart perhaps pointing out the disparity in response between the two fatal incidents.
He also added in his comment that Trump's quote "seems relevant today."
While some might not necessarily agree with the sentiment behind the comment, it is largely harmless and merely an expression of Bushart's own opinion — yet some, including the Sheriff's Office, took it as a 'threat of mass violence' towards a local school that shared the same name as the one Trump was referring to back in 2024.
Clarifying the motivation behind the arrest, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems revealed in a statement to The Tennessean that "investigators believe Bushart was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community."
Bushart was unable to pay the $2 million bond given by a judge following his arrest, but has now walked away with a settlement worth $835,000 after suing Perry County, Tennessee, Sheriff Weems, and county investigator Jason Morrow.
"I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated," Bushart declared in response to the settlement. "The people's freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy. I am looking forward to moving on and spending time with my family."