Larry Bushart Wins $835,000 From Perry County After 37-Day Jail Over Meme

11 articles · Updated · fire.org · May 20

$835,000 will be paid to retired Tennessee officer Larry Bushart to settle his federal civil-rights suit against Perry County, Sheriff Nick Weems and an investigator over his arrest for a Facebook meme.
37 days in jail and a $2 million bond followed a September 2025 post quoting Donald Trump’s “We have to get over it” line after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which authorities treated as a threat to a Tennessee high school.
Weems later acknowledged he knew the meme referred to a 2024 Iowa school shooting more than 500 miles away, but that context was omitted from the warrant application, according to the lawsuit.
Bushart said the settlement vindicated his First Amendment rights after he lost a job, missed his anniversary and the birth of a grandchild, and was released only after national outrage over the case.
The case adds to a wider wave of speech disputes after Kirk’s killing, with FIRE also backing other Tennessee plaintiffs who say they were punished for protected online comments.

After an $835,000 settlement for a meme, where do police now draw the line between online commentary and a criminal threat?

He was jailed for 37 days over a meme. How does this case change the rules for what you can post online?