Tennessee man jailed over Charlie Kirk post settles lawsuit for $835K

A Tennessee man who spent more than a month in jail after being arrested over a Facebook post about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has settled a wrongful incarceration lawsuit for $835,000.

Larry Bushart, a retired police officer, was held for 37 days before prosecutors dropped felony charges. During that time, he lost his post-retirement job and missed the birth of his grandchild.

Authorities arrested Bushart in September 2024 after he shared a meme in an online thread about a vigil honoring Kirk.

“I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Bushart said in a statement Wednesday announcing the settlement.

“The people’s freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy,” his statement continued. “I am looking forward to moving on and spending time with my family.”

The BBC has contacted Perry County officials for comment.

Bushart is among dozens of Americans who faced sanctions – ranging from online criticism to job loss – for social media comments about Kirk’s shooting death.

Bushart is the only person known to have been jailed specifically for such a post.

He posted the meme 10 days after Kirk was fatally shot at an outdoor speaking event in Utah.

The meme included a comment – “Seems relevant today” – alongside a partial quote from President Donald Trump: “We have to get over it.”

That quote came from a message of condolence Trump delivered in 2024 after a school shooting in Perry, Iowa.

The day after Bushart shared the meme, deputies went to his home and arrested him on suspicion of “threatening mass violence at a school.”

Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems told local media that residents were alarmed because a school in the county shares the same name as the Iowa school.

“Investigators believe Bushart was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community,” Weems said in a statement to The Tennessean last year.

Bushart remained in custody because he could not pay a $2 million bond.

His lawsuit named Perry County, Weems and Jason Morrow, a county investigator involved in the case, as defendants.

The suit alleged that the defendants violated Bushart’s First Amendment rights and his Fourth Amendment right to be free from “wrongful arrest, wrongful prosecution, and wrongful incarceration.”

The trial had been scheduled in Memphis for July.