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A Tennessee man who was jailed for more than a month after refusing to remove a Facebook meme mocking the murder of Charlie Kirk will be paid $850,000 as part of a plea deal with officials.
Larry Bushart, 61, a retired police officer, spent 37 days in jail on $2 million bond before authorities dropped the felony charges against him in October.
While in prison, he lost his post-retirement job and missed his wedding day and the birth of his grandson, according to Bushart’s lawsuit filed by Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems and the detective who obtained the warrant for his arrest.
“I am pleased that my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Bushart said in a statement Wednesday announcing the settlement. The statement was released by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which is the organization that helped represent him in this case.
“People’s freedom to participate in civil discourse is essential to a healthy democracy. I look forward to continuing to spend time with my family,” he added.
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Larry Bushart won an $850,000 settlement against officials in Tennessee for his arrest for refusing to remove a Facebook meme mocking the Charlie Kirk murder. (Getty Images; LadyJay Creations LLC)
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’s murder while speaking to college students in Utah.
The meme that led to his arrest featured a picture of President Donald Trump next to the words, “We have to end it,” with the caption, “This seems to be working today…” The meme explained that the quote was said by Trump in 2024, following the school shooting at Perry High School in Iowa.
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However, the arrest warrant was based on the “absurd assumption” that the meme could be interpreted as a threat against Perry County High School in Tennessee, FIRE said.
In addition, the organization noted that Bushart did not create or modify the meme.
Weems told the media that the meme did not lead investigators to believe there was an actual threat. However, he said the case depends on how some people may interpret it as a threat to the local school.
Charlie Kirk chats with students during his American Comeback Tour stop at California State University Northridge on March 6, 2025. (Photos by Benjamin Hanson/Middle East/AFP)
“No one should be sent to jail in the dark for a harmless meme because the authorities disagree with its message,” said FIRE senior attorney Adam Steinbaugh. “We are glad that Larry has been compensated for this injustice, but local law enforcement should never have forced him to endure this ordeal in the first place.”
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FIRE noted that hundreds of Americans were censored for their online speech after Kirk’s murder. The group is currently representing Monica Weeks, a state employee who was fired by the state for posting on Facebook critical of Kirk shortly after his death.
