Larry Bushart, a man who was jailed for 37 days for reposting a Trump meme, has now sued the cops who allegedly schemed to keep him imprisoned for as long as possible simply because they disagreed with his point of view.
Bushart is a former cop who lost his post-retirement job after a seemingly vengeful sheriff jailed him for trolling a Charlie Kirk vigil post in a Facebook group. Upset that Kirk’s death commanded more attention than other victims of gun violence, Bushart posted a string of memes, among which was an image of Trump with an actual quote saying “We have to get over it” about a 2024 school shooting.
Perry County sheriff Nick Weems has since acknowledged that he “knew” that the meme referenced a prior school shooting. However, the entire time that Bushart was detained, Weems maintained that Bushart’s post incited “mass hysteria” from parents concerned that he was threatening violence at a local high school. Painting Bushart as indifferent to the supposed hysteria, Weems justified his arrest, as well as the $2 million bond ensuring Bushart couldn’t afford bail and remained behind bars.
None of the commenters on the Facebook thread interpreted Bushart’s meme as threatening a school shooting, Bushart’s lawsuit alleged. And so far, no public records show any concerned citizens flagging the meme as violating laws protecting schools. A request to the school district turned up no records, and so far, police have not produced any evidence of the hysteria, either, Bushart alleged.
Instead, it’s alleged that Weems was personally offended by Bushart’s memes, as someone who was using his Facebook account to promote the Kirk vigil that Weems was trolling. Allegedly violating Bushart’s First Amendment rights, Weems sought to use his power as sheriff to punish Bushart for his views, seemingly first angling to have the posts taken down and then allegedly doubling down and pushing for a false arrest.
To get Bushart jailed, Weems allegedly collaborated with an investigator, Jason Morrow, to omit a key detail from the affidavit that served as the entire basis of his arrest. Morrow supposedly left out the fact that the meme referred to a 2024 school shooting, allegedly helping Weems manufacture probable cause. Including that detail would’ve made Bushart’s arrest less likely, as the reviewing magistrate—a nonlawyer who has no legal education—would’ve possibly understood that cops were trying to arrest Bushart for protected speech, his complaint said.
While there’s no evidence of anyone interpreting the meme as a violent threat to school kids, there was a “national uproar” when Bushart’s story started spreading online, his complaint noted. Bushart credits media attention for helping to secure his release. The very next day after a local news station pressed Weems in a TV interview to admit he knew the meme wasn’t referencing his county’s high school and confirm that no one ever asked Bushart to clarify his online remarks, charges were dropped, and Bushart was set free.
Morrow and Weems have been sued in their personal capacities and could “be on the hook for monetary damages,” a press release from Bushart’s legal team at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) said. Perry County, Tennessee, is also a defendant since it’s liable for unconstitutional acts of its sheriffs.
Perry County officials did not immediately respond to Ars’ request to comment.
Bushart suffered “humiliating” arrest
For Bushart, the arrest has shaken up his life. As the primary breadwinner, he’s worried about how he will support himself and his wife after losing his job while in jail. The arrest was particularly “humiliating,” his complaint said, “given his former role as a law enforcement officer.” And despite his release, fear of arrest has chilled his speech, impacting how he expresses his views online.
“I spent over three decades in law enforcement, and have the utmost respect for the law,” Bushart said. “But I also know my rights, and I was arrested for nothing more than refusing to be bullied into censorship.”
Bushart is seeking punitive damages, alleging that cops acted “willfully and maliciously” to omit information from his arrest affidavit that would’ve prevented his detention. One of his lawyers, FIRE senior attorney Adam Steinbaugh, said that a win would protect all social media meme posters from police censorship.
“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,” Steinbaugh said.
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