Man jailed for Charlie Kirk Facebook meme wins $835,000 settlement

Larry Bushart spent 37 days in jail after he shared memes about Charlie Kirk and he's been awarded a settlement of $835,000 from the people who arrested him.

You might remember that right-wing political commentator Kirk was shot and killed last year, and since he was so close to US President Donald Trump there was a gigantic memorial service held for him in a sports stadium.

Kirk was famous for creating the Turning Point USA group which pushes a particular political agenda across social media and is now run by his widow Erika.

A man named Tyler Robinson was arrested and charged with killing Kirk.

Kirk had been shot dead on 10 September last year and later that month Bushart, a 61-year-old retired law enforcement officer living in Perry County, Tennessee, was arrested by the local Sheriff's Office for sharing a meme about a vigil for the political commentator.

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

10 days after Kirk was shot and killed Bushart commented 'seems relevant today' as he shared a meme containing a quote from Donald Trump saying 'we have to get over it' that the US president had made in response to a 2024 school shooting in Perry, Iowa.

According to the BBC, the following day officers from Perry County Sheriff's Office showed up at his house and arrested the 61-year-old for threatening mass violence at a school.

Sheriff Nick Weems said at the time that local residents were alarmed because the school in Perry, Iowa where the 2024 shooting Trump said 'we have to get over' had the same name as one in Perry, Tennessee.

Newsweek reports that the sheriff had said at the time even though he knew the meme was referencing Iowa, he claimed local Tennessee residents interpreted it as a threat.

Unable to pay a $2 million bond, Bushart spent the next 37 days behind bars during which time he lost his post-retirement job and missed the birth of his grandchild.

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

He's now settled a lawsuit where he alleged he'd been subjected to 'wrongful arrest, wrongful prosecution, and wrongful incarceration' for $835,000.

"I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated," Bushart said in a statement yesterday following the settlement of his lawsuit.

"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 had argued that Perry County Sheriff's Office couldn't produce records that anyone had interpreted his meme as a threat to the school, and the local school district said they had 'no records at all' about Bushart or the social media post.