Man Jailed for Trump-Roasting Charlie Kirk Meme Wins Huge Settlement

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Retired police officer Larry Bushart has won a huge settlement after he was jailed for posting a meme roasting President Donald Trump after the Charlie Kirk shooting.

Media figures like Jimmy Kimmel and Karen Attiah were among many who were be fired or otherwise punished over comments related to the killing of Charlie Kirk amid an aggressive push by Trump allies.

But things went much firther with Bushart, a retired Huntingdon Police Department officer who was imprisoned on $2 million bond after he posted a meme on a Facebook page discussing a vigil for Kirk.

The meme quoted Trump saying “We have to get over it” during a speech after a school shooting in Iowa, along with the caption “This seems relevant today…..”

Via @Everytown

In an echo of the James Comey case, police arrested Bushart by claiming some had interpreted the post as a “threat of violence” against a local school.

Bushart was held on $2 million bail for 37 days. In an interview with Newschannel 5 investigative reporter Phil Williams, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems made a key admission that led to Bushart’s release:

“It says ‘Perry High School mass shooting one day after,’ ok? That led people to believe in our county that he’s talking about Perry County High School – because it doesn’t say ‘Iowa’ either,” Weems answered.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates followed up, “But you also knew this was an existing meme that was already out there on the Internet.”

“Correct,” Weems agreed.

Again, we noted, “So it’s clear that he’s not talking about Perry County High School.”

“We knew,” the sheriff said. “The public did not know.”

As a result of that admission, Bushart was freed the next day. Still, he lost his post-retirement job, as well as missing his wedding anniversary and the birth of his grandchild.

Bushart filed a lawsuit over his imprisonment, and in a settlement announced on Wednesday, will receive $835,000.00 in return for dropping the suit:

Under the deal announced Wednesday, Larry Bushart, agreed to drop the five-month-old case alleging that his constitutional rights were violated when officials in Perry County, Tennessee, held him in jail for 37 days last fall.

“I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Bushart said in a statement Wednesday. “The people’s freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy.”

The New York Times noted thay while others have received settlement after being fired, Bushart “was perhaps the only person charged with a felony after his posts about Mr. Kirk’s death.”

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