Tennessee ex-cop wins massive settlement after being jailed for Charlie Kirk meme

A Tennessee man jailed for 37 days has won an $835,000 settlement after a local sheriff admitted that he knew the meme the man had posted was not a threat.

“I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Larry Bushart said in a statement, NewsChannel 5 reported. “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.”

Bushart is dropping a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the sheriff, Nick Weems, an investigator, and the county for violating his constitutional rights.

Following the September murder of Charlie Kirk, Bushart posted a meme in a Perry County Facebook group.

The meme featured a photo of President Donald Trump, and a quote the president had made after a high school mass shooting that left two people dead and six people injured. The quote was, “we have to get over it.”

The meme also read: “This seems relevant today.”

NewsChannel 5 reports that “because some people misinterpreted that meme as a threat to shoot up Perry County High School in Linden, Tenn., sheriff’s deputies arrested Bushart for threatening to commit an act of mass violence at a school. He was held for 37 days, unable to make the $2 million bond set by a local magistrate.”

Sheriff Weems admitted to NewsChannel 5 that he knew the meme was not about Perry County High School in Linden, Tennessee.

“It doesn’t say Perry County High School,” the news outlet told the sheriff in an interview.

“It says ‘Perry High School mass shooting one day after,’ ok? That led people to believe in our county that he’s talking about Perry County High School – because it doesn’t say ‘Iowa’ either,” he responded.

“But you also knew this was an existing meme that was already out there on the Internet,” NewsChannel 5 pressed.

“Correct,” he said.

“So it’s clear that he’s not talking about Perry County High School,” the station confirmed.

“We knew,” Sheriff Weems said. “The public did not know.”

Bushart was freed the following day, but he lost a post-retirement job, missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of a grandchild.

A non-profit organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), stepped in to help.

“No one should be hauled off to jail in the dark of night over a harmless meme just because the authorities disagree with its message,” FIRE senior attorney Adam Steinbaugh told NewsChannel 5.