Tennessee Authorities Drop Charge Against Man Over Meme Posted After Kirk’s Assassination

Tennessee authorities have dropped a felony charge against a man who posted a meme after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was killed that local authorities say violated the state’s new mass violence law.

Larry Bushart, 61, a former law enforcement officer and active user of social media, was arrested on Sept. 21 after refusing to take down a meme he posted on a community page the day after Kirk was assassinated in Utah.

The meme caught the attention of Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems, who said residents felt threatened by it.

The meme features an image of President Donald Trump with a quote, “We have to get over it,” and an attribution line stating, “Donald Trump, on the Perry High School mass shooting one day after.”

The meme appears to misrepresent Trump’s comments on a Jan. 4, 2024, shooting at Perry High School in Iowa.

Trump gave condolences at a campaign event held in Sioux City after the shooting, saying: “I want to send our support and our deepest sympathies to the victims and families touched by the terrible school shooting yesterday in Perry, Iowa. It’s just horrible, so surprising to see it here.

“But have to get over it, we have to move forward.”

The meme caused some parents of Perry County High School to pull their kids from class, according to Weems. The sheriff sent local police to Bushart’s house to ask him to remove the meme, but he refused, Weems said.

As of Friday, Bushart had not taken down the Facebook post that was the basis of his arrest.

In an interview Wednesday with News Channel 5 in Nashville, Weems said he believed Bushart violated a new Tennessee law that went into effect July 1, which created penalties for a person who is found guilty of making threats of mass violence against a school, house of worship, government building, or any large public event.

Anyone who threatens to commit an act of mass violence, where the threat causes another person to “reasonably expect” an act of mass violence to occur as a result, would be violating the new law.

“Whenever you come to a Perry County page that is set up to let people know what’s going on in Perry County, and you post this talking about Perry High School shooting … that led people to believe in our county that he’s talking about Perry County High School,” the sheriff said.

Although the meme said “Perry High School,” the sheriff said community members thought it meant “Perry County High School” because it didn’t say “Iowa” on it. As a result, multiple parents were scared to send their children to school after the post, Weems said.

Bushart was charged with violating the new state law, and jailed for five weeks while subject to a $2 million bond. He was released Wednesday.

Republican District Attorney General Hans Schwendimann dropped the charge Wednesday, allowing Bushart to be released. The district attorney did not return a request for comment.

Several people who posted social media messages following Kirk’s death were fired from their jobs over their comments.

News of Bushart’s arrest over his post raised eyebrows and prompted responses from people across the region.

The news of Bushart’s arrest spread to several states, prompting some people to start a Facebook page called “Justice for Larry Bushart” to support him. The page had more than 3,300 members as of Friday.

The group that created the page said it did so because its members believed Bushart’s arrest was an overreach and a violation of his First Amendment protections.

Page moderator Valerie Jones Bean, a Georgia resident, celebrated the news of Bushart’s charges being dropped.

“Pressure does work!” Bean posted. “I hope Larry and Leanne sue the pants off of them. He lost [five] weeks of his life. Money is the only thing they understand.”

Bushart thanked his supporters on the page following his release Thursday. He returned to posting political memes, sports content, and news critical of the Trump administration on Facebook.

A review of Bushart’s page shows that he has posted memes critical of Trump, his administration, and Republicans. He has also posted several memes mocking Kirk’s killing.

He did not return a request for comment by publication time.