Chicago – May 20, 2026
Tennessee authorities have agreed to pay $835,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old retired police officer jailed for 37 days over Facebook memes about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Bushart was arrested in September after refusing to remove satirical memes referencing Kirk’s death, which occurred during a Turning Point USA event in Utah in September 2025. Perry County authorities charged him with falsely threatening violence at a school, a felony, after residents complained the posts targeted Perry County High School. His bail was initially set at $2 million before he was released in October when prosecutors dropped the charge.
In his lawsuit against Perry County, the sheriff, and the investigator, Bushart cited losses including his post-retirement job, his wedding anniversary, and his granddaughter’s birth. “I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Bushart said, calling the settlement a victory for free speech. The case remains one of the few instances where social media remarks about Kirk’s death resulted in criminal charges.
