Posted on 05/21/2026 2:51:08 PM PDT by Coronal
A Tennessee man who was jailed for more than a month after refusing to take down a Facebook meme poking fun at the assassination of Charlie Kirk will be paid $850,000 as part of a settlement with officials.
Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old retired police officer, spent 37 days behind bars under a $2 million bond before authorities dropped the felony charge against him in October.
While in jail, he lost his post-retirement job and missed both his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter, according to a federal lawsuit Bushart filed against Perry County, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems and the investigator who obtained his arrest warrant.
"I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated," Bushart said in a Wednesday statement announcing the settlement. The statement was provided by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the organization that helped represent him in the case.
"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," he added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Perry County Mayor John Carroll for comment.
Bushart was arrested in September, after he refused to remove a Facebook meme that joked about Kirk being killed while speaking to college students in Utah.
The meme that led to his arrest featured an image of President Donald Trump alongside the words, "We have to get over it," captioned with, "This seems relevant today..." The meme explained that the quote was originally said by Trump in 2024, following a school shooting at Perry High School in Iowa.
However, the arrest warrant was based on the "absurd notion" that the meme could be interpreted as a threat against Perry County High School in Tennessee, FIRE said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Is turnabout fair play?
The man has a point, free speech should be free, however detestable. I don’t think the meme was a threat against the school.
He did take Trumps remark out of context, which is what makes his detestable.
He’s also free to meet people (non government) who say: “Hey, we saw what you said. Care to explain that?”
Guess reposting someone else’s stuff can be profitable.
And he can tell the Stasi to get bent.
They can ask questions, and he can shut the door in their face, but what they can’t do is haul him off to jail because they don’t like his facebook post and he won’t take it down.
It’s a shame the restitution comes from taxpayers and not the petty tyrants actually responsible.
FFS we are not Britain where you jail people for memes. Everyone everywhere should be againat the local yokels, the state or the feds jailing people for speech. Other than a direct quantifiable threat to a specific person or place.
Sounds like a case of Malicious Compliance.
Wow, I read about that Escondido beating this morning, but had not seen a picture of the poor guy. This was not just a single sucker punch. This was a beating of a defenseless man on the ground with intent to kill.
He shouldn’t have been jailed but it wouldn’t have bothered me if someone took umbrage to his crap and punched him in the face.
Escondido man hospitalized after attack outside his Trump-themed home
Grrrrr 😡😡😡😠😠😠
Wasn’t a man jailed for an anti_Hillary meme about 2016 election?
Yeah, it wasn’t just one or two punches.
>>”The man has a point, free speech should be free, however detestable. I don’t think the meme was a threat against the school.”
That may be, but it is interesting to see how quickly a low life like him is able to get restitution compared to J6er’s who spent years in jail.
Happen to have a lot of brown shirts in your closet?
“Wasn’t a man jailed for an anti_Hillary meme about 2016 election?”
Yes. Douglass Mackey. And he had to go to the appeals court to get it dismissed.
The guy in California who was beaten. The perp was charged with attempted murder.
“A man was beaten nearly to death outside his Escondido home, which is decorated in pro-President Donald Trump memorabilia and may have been the motive for the attack, his wife said.
Thomas Caleb Butler, 32, was arrested on an attempted murder charge in connection with the assault on Kerry Sheron near East Mission Avenue and Buchanan Street around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, the Escondido Police Department said. A bystander who tried to intervene was also injured.
When police arrived, they found Sheron suffering from significant injuries. He was hospitalized and remains there in critical condition.”
Say that to my face and I’d be glad to provide a fist to your face.
Yes a joke about a different Election Day
Trump pardoned him
I get it, you’re a brute. That’s why you’d fit in a brown shirt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.