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A Tennessee man who spent over a month in jail for posting a meme following the death of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk has received a large cash settlement from his home county, an outcome he described as a victory for free speech rights.
Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old man from Lexington, Tennessee, spent 37 days in Perry County jail last fall following his arrest by the sheriff’s department after he shared several memes on Kirk’s murder.
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems called Bushart’s Kirk posts “hate memes” that were nonetheless “not against the law and would be recognized as free speech.” Bushart was arrested for posting an image of President Donald Trump with a quotation that read, “We have to get over it. — Donald Trump on the Perry High School mass shooting one day after.” The remark was made by Trump earlier in 2025, following a school shooting in Perry, Iowa.
“This seems relevant today,” the meme was captioned.
Bushart, a retired police officer, shared the image to a Perry County, Tennessee, Facebook group he belonged to. He was taken into custody soon after the post was made, with the sheriff’s department claiming to have been contacted in fear that he was planning a school shooting of his own at the local Perry High School.
“Investigators believe Bushart was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community,” Sheriff Nick Weems said in a statement following Bushart’s arrest.
Weems later admitted that he understood at the time of the arrest that the meme shared by Bushart did not actually reference a plan for a school shooting in the county, but rather referred to a past shooting elsewhere, and how little attention Trump had given to that event versus Kirk’s death. However, that information was omitted from his warrant application, which a judge had signed off on.
During the period that Bushart was in custody, he lost his post-retirement employment. He also missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter.
After his release, he filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Weems and other Perry County officials, alleging his First Amendment speech rights had been violated. On Wednesday, his lawyers announced the county agreed to settle the case for $835,000.
Bushart said he views the settlement as a victory for free speech.
“I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” he said in a statement. “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.”
Cary Davis, staff attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the organization that represented Bushart, also celebrated the settlement.
“It’s in times of turmoil and heightened tensions that our national commitment to free speech is tested the most. When government officials fail that test, the Constitution exists to hold them accountable,” Davis said.
“Our hope is that Larry’s settlement sends a message to law enforcement across the country: Respect the First Amendment today, or be prepared to pay the price tomorrow,” Davis added.
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