Man Who Spent 37 Days In Jail Over Charlie Kirk Meme Wins $835,000 Settlement

Larry Bushart spent 37 days in jail over Facebook memes about Charlie Kirk. Now, the 61-year-old has reached an $835,000 settlement with the officials connected to his arrest.

The case began after Kirk, a right-wing political commentator with close ties to US President Donald Trump, was shot and killed last year. His death drew national attention, and a large memorial service was later held for him inside a sports stadium.

Kirk was best known as the founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative group that built a large following through social media and political events. The organization is now led by his widow, Erika.

Tyler Robinson was later arrested and charged in connection with Kirk’s killing.

Kirk was shot dead on September 10 last year. Later that same month, Bushart, a retired law enforcement officer from Perry County, Tennessee, was arrested by the local Sheriff's Office after sharing a meme tied to a vigil for the political commentator.

The post came 10 days after Kirk’s death. Bushart wrote 'seems relevant today' while sharing a meme that included Donald Trump’s quote 'we have to get over it', which Trump had said in response to a 2024 school shooting in Perry, Iowa.

61-year-old Larry Bushart was arrested and spent 37 days in jail for sharing a meme WKRN 2

The BBC reported that officers from the Perry County Sheriff's Office arrived at Bushart’s home the next day and arrested him on an accusation of threatening mass violence at a school.

Sheriff Nick Weems said at the time that some local residents were alarmed because the school in Perry, Iowa, where the 2024 shooting happened, had the same name as one in Perry, Tennessee. That overlap became a central part of how officials framed the post.

Newsweek reported that Weems said he knew the meme referred to Iowa, but claimed people in Tennessee had read it as a threat aimed at their local school.

Why the Facebook post became a legal fight

The dispute quickly moved beyond one Facebook meme and became a larger fight over free speech, policing, and how officials respond to online posts after a high-profile killing.

Public records and later reporting put the case in the middle of a wider debate over reactions to Kirk’s death. The Associated Press reported that Bushart sued Perry County, the sheriff, and an investigator, arguing that his First Amendment rights had been violated.

The settlement does not erase the time Bushart spent in custody, but it does mark a major outcome in a case that drew attention from free-speech advocates and critics of the arrest.

Bushart could not pay the $2 million bond set in the case, so he remained behind bars for 37 days.

During that time, the fallout reached into his personal life. He lost his post-retirement job while jailed, and he also missed the birth of his grandchild.

The size of the bond became one of the most striking details in the case, especially because the arrest centered on a social media post rather than a physical act.

Bushart had posted a meme about Charlie Kirk Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images

Bushart has now settled the lawsuit for $835,000 after alleging that he had been subjected to 'wrongful arrest, wrongful prosecution, and wrongful incarceration'.

"I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated," Bushart said in a statement yesterday after the settlement was reached.

"The people's freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy."

"I am looking forward to moving on and spending time with my family."

His lawsuit argued that the Perry County Sheriff's Office could not produce records showing that anyone had understood his meme as a threat to the school. The local school district also said it had 'no records at all' about Bushart or the social media post.

That detail became important because it challenged the idea that the post had caused a documented school threat. For Bushart, the settlement now lets him close the case while also putting a price on the 37 days he spent in jail.