Retired police officer jailed over Charlie Kirk post settlement has just walked away with $835,000 after the county that locked him up realized it had no case.
Larry Bushart spent 37 days in a cell. He missed the birth of his grandchild. He lost his post-retirement job. All because he shared a meme on Facebook. The post appeared in a thread about a vigil honoring Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was shot and killed at an outdoor event in Utah. Bushart’s meme included a partial quote from Donald Trump. The words were from a condolence message the president gave after a school shooting in Iowa. Bushart added the line seems relevant today. That was it. That was the crime.
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The Perry County Sheriff’s Office did not see it that way. Officers came to his home and arrested him for threatening mass violence at a school. The sheriff claimed residents were alarmed. He said there was a local school with the same name as the one in Iowa. He argued Bushart knew the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria. The bond was set at two million dollars. Bushart could not pay it. He stayed locked up.
The felony charges were eventually dropped. The damage was already done. Bushart sued the county, the sheriff, and a county investigator. He argued his First Amendment rights were shredded and his Fourth Amendment rights against wrongful arrest and incarceration were violated. A trial was set for July. The county just settled for $835,000 instead of facing a jury.
Bushart said his First Amendment rights have been vindicated. He called civil discourse crucial to a healthy democracy. Then he said he is looking forward to moving on and spending time with his family.
He was the only person in America known to have been jailed over a Social Media post about the Kirk killing. Dozens faced backlash online. Some lost jobs. Bushart lost his freedom. Now the county is cutting a massive check and hoping everyone forgets how easily they caged a man over a meme.
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