A retired cop, Larry Bushart, is suing a Tennessee County after he was thrown in jail for more than a month over a meme he posted following the shooting of Charlie Kirk.

Mr. Bushart’s troubles began when he commented on a Facebook post about a vigil for Kirk. The retired cop shared a meme that he found featuring President Trump. The meme quoted Mr. Trump’s response to a 2024 shooting at a high school in Perry, Iowa, that left one dead and seven wounded, in which he shared his condolences to the families of the victims. The president urged Iowans to “move forward,” saying, “It’s just horrible, so surprising to see it here. But have to get over it, we have to move forward.”

The meme shared by Mr. Bushart quoted the president’s comment about “we have to get over it,” and he wrote, “This seems relevant today.”  The Perry County sheriff, Nick Weems, said the meme was lawful but that it was creating fear among residents that Mr. Bushart was threatening a high school in Perry County, Tennessee. Mr. Bushart was arrested on charges related to threats of mass violence after he refused to delete the post. 

He was held on a $2 million bond for 37 days. After Mr. Bushart’s arrest was reported, sparking concerns from free speech advocates, the charges were dropped.

Mr. Bushart is not the only individual to face repercussions for his social media post about Kirk’s death. Several teachers and other employees were fired or suspended for their comments on Kirk’s death. However, the retired cop’s arrest generated an uproar due to concerns that he was jailed for exercising his free speech rights. 

Now, Mr. Bushart is suing Mr. Weems and Perry County, arguing that they violated his First Amendment rights.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, FIRE, filed the lawsuit on Mr. Bushart’s behalf.

A senior attorney at FIRE, Adam Steinbaugh, said in a statement, “If police can come to your door in the middle of the night and put you behind bars based on nothing more than an entirely false and contrived interpretation of a Facebook post, no one’s First Amendment rights are safe.”

The lawsuit states, “In America, we do not jail people for political speech. Yet Larry Bushart spent 37 days behind bars simply for speaking his mind. It took a national uproar about his detention for Perry County officials to drop the charge against Mr. Bushart — a charge officials knew from the outset was unfounded.”

FIRE said that Mr. Bushart’s time in prison cost him his job and made him miss his wedding anniversary and the birth of his grandchild. 

It also noted that the sheriff told a local TV station at Nashville, NewsChannel5, he knew Mr. Bushart’s meme was an “existing meme” that was not directed at Perry County High School.

“We knew,” Mr. Weems said. “The public did not know.”

However, FIRE says that the arrest warrant application did not include that context.

Mr. Bushart said in a statement, “I spent over three decades in law enforcement, and have the utmost respect for the law.”

“But I also know my rights, and I was arrested for nothing more than refusing to be bullied into censorship,” he added.

Mr. Bushart is seeking monetary and punitive damages for the alleged violation of his rights.

Perry County did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.