Authorities in Tennessee have dropped a felony charge against Larry Bushart, who was jailed for over a month after posting a Facebook meme referencing the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In an era where many have faced job losses due to their online comments about Kirk's assassination, Bushart's case stands out as one of the few instances where social media speech led to criminal prosecution. His arrest, linked to a charge of threatening mass violence at a school, raised significant concerns among free speech advocates. They argued that Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems targeted Bushart because of his political views. On Wednesday, Bushart was released after prosecutors sought to dismiss the charge.
Bushart, a 61-year-old former police officer, had shared multiple memes on Facebook regarding Kirk's killing, with one specific post leading to his arrest. The controversial meme depicted former President Donald Trump along with the phrase, ‘We have to get over it,’ referring to comments made by Trump following an unrelated school shooting in Iowa.
Following the post, Bushart captioned, ‘This seems relevant today...’ His statement drew alarm from local residents, who interpreted it as a threat against Perry County High School, despite Weems clarifying that Bushart was alluding to a school in Iowa.
While Sheriff Weems noted that Bushart’s other memes fell within lawful free speech, he expressed that the community felt uneasy about the post tied to a school shooting, leading to an intense response. Investigators believed Bushart understood the possible fear his post could incite and sought to stoke hysteria.
Bushart was arrested after he refused to remove the post, and his bail was set at $2 million. After spending over five weeks in jail, he expressed relief upon his release, stating, ‘Very happy to be going home. I didn’t seek to be a media sensation, but here we are.’ Neither Sheriff Weems nor the local district attorney commented on the decision to drop the charge.
