Larry Bushart spent 34 years as a law enforcement officer and 24 years in the National Guard. And he spent 37 days in jail because of his speech.

Now retired, Larry enjoys participating in political discourse on social media. Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Larry was scrolling Facebook and noticed a post promoting a candlelight vigil in nearby Perry County, Tennessee. In the comments, Larry posted several memes sharing his displeasure with what he considered to be the inordinate attention that was being paid to Kirk’s assassination.

One of the memes depicted a photo of Donald Trump and quoted his reaction (“We have to get over it”) to a January 2024 shooting at Iowa’s Perry High School. Whoever created the meme (not Larry) had added the text, “This seems relevant today….”

The next day, Larry received a visit from local police. The Perry County (Tennessee) Sheriff, Nick Weems, was claiming residents might interpret Larry’s meme as a threat of future violence on the local Perry County High School. Sheriff Weems had Larry arrested and hauled to jail in the dead of night. Larry remained in jail for 37 days on an astonishing $2 million bond. While locked up, Larry lost his post-retirement job performing medical transportation and missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter.

Sheriff Weems said Larry’s meme created “mass hysteria” in the Perry County community. But neither the County nor Sheriff Weems have produced any evidence that anyone interpreted Larry’s meme as a threat. In fact, they’ve refused to respond to multiple public records requests. And the Perry County school district says they don’t have any records at all — no reassuring letters home to anxious parents, no panicked texts between administrators, no messages from concerned students.

With FIRE’s help, Larry is suing Perry County and Weems in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee for violating his First Amendment right to free speech and his Fourth Amendment right against unlawful seizure. Larry is also suing Investigator Jason Morrow who, on Weems’ orders, helped procure the misleading arrest warrant. And because Weems and Morrow knew their actions were egregiously unconstitutional, FIRE is suing them in their personal capacities, meaning they would be on the hook for monetary damages. Rounding out Larry’s legal team is Phillips and Phillips, PLLC, in Lexington, TN, which also defended Larry in criminal court.

“This lawsuit goes beyond Larry,” said FIRE attorney David Rubin. “It’s about making sure police everywhere understand that they cannot punish or intimidate people for sharing controversial opinions online. Law enforcement across the country should be on notice: Respect the First Amendment, or prepare to face the consequences.”