Norms Impact
Retired cop jailed for 37 days over Charlie Kirk meme sues, saying his First Amendment rights were violated | CNN Politics
A Tennessee sheriff’s office allegedly turned a political meme into a “school threat,” using arrest and a $2 million bond to punish speech without evidence.
Dec 17, 2025
Sources
Summary
A retired Tennessee law enforcement officer was jailed for 37 days after being arrested over a Facebook meme tied to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and the charge was later dropped. Local law enforcement and prosecutors used arrest, a severe charge, and a $2 million bond to treat political commentary as a public-safety threat. The result was prolonged pretrial detention, alleged financial and reputational harm, and a chilling effect on ordinary online political speech.
Reality Check
Letting police rebrand political commentary as a “school threat” and then hold a citizen for 37 days on an unaffordable bond is a blueprint for suppressing dissent through pretrial detention, and it can happen to any of us with a social media account. If officials “understood” the meme as political commentary yet “orchestrated” the arrest anyway, the conduct squarely implicates 18 U.S.C. § 242 (deprivation of rights under color of law) and civil liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for First and Fourth Amendment violations, including retaliatory arrest and unlawful seizure. Even if prosecutors can’t prove criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt, this still reads as classic abuse of police power—using the machinery of arrest, charging, and extreme bail to chill protected speech and force self-censorship.
Detail
<p>Larry Bushart, a retired Tennessee law enforcement officer, shared a Facebook meme about a vigil in Tennessee for Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on September 10 at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The meme included a photo of Donald Trump and quoted him saying, “We have to get over it,” referencing a 2024 shooting at Perry High School in Des Moines, Iowa.</p><p>Four officers came to Bushart’s home the next day and arrested him for “threatening mass violence at a school.” Court records cited by authorities said the post was understood locally as a threat to an area school with a similar name to the one referenced in the meme. Bushart remained jailed for 37 days because he could not pay a $2 million bond. In late October, a Tennessee district attorney moved to drop the single charge, and Bushart was released.</p><p>Bushart filed a 30-page federal lawsuit in Tennessee seeking a jury trial and monetary and punitive damages, naming Perry County, Sheriff Nick Weems, and investigator Jason Morrow.</p>