Bushart’s settlement followed his Sept. arrest after he posted Facebook memes that joked about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, AP reported. Bushart, 61, was jailed for more than a month and later said the case disrupted his retirement life, including by costing him a postretirement job and causing him to miss a wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter, according to the federal lawsuit he filed in December.
The settlement was announced in a Wednesday statement by Bushart, AP reported. He said he was “pleased” his First Amendment rights had been vindicated and that the ability to participate in civil discourse matters for “a healthy democracy,” adding that he looked forward to returning to his family.
According to AP, the legal fight centered on how Perry County officials characterized the Facebook memes after Bushart refused to remove them. Bushart posted the memes in September, the AP account said, and authorities arrested him after the posts were viewed as threats connected to a school, even though the sheriff said the memes referenced a school in Iowa.
AP reported that the meme at issue read, “This seems relevant today…” and featured President Donald Trump with the words, “We have to get over it.” The meme also referenced a 2024 remark by Trump after a school shooting at Iowa’s Perry High School, according to the AP account.
During Bushart’s detention, AP reported, his bail was set at $2 million before he was released as the case drew national attention. The AP account said Bushart remained in jail for 37 days and that the felony charge was dropped in October.
In the background of the dispute, AP said Perry County residents were alarmed by the posting and held a candlelight vigil near Bushart’s home. AP also reported that Perry County Mayor John Carroll did not immediately respond to a message seeking an interview.
AP further reported that Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems told media outlets that most of Bushart’s “hate memes” were lawful free speech. But in a statement to The Tennessean last year, Weems said investigators believed Bushart “was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community,” according to AP.
The lawsuit Bushart filed in December named Perry County, the sheriff and an investigator who obtained the arrest warrant, AP reported. AP said Bushart sought $835,000 from those defendants as part of the settlement and that it followed his claim that the prosecution punished speech rather than any unlawful conduct.
An attorney for a rights group, Cary Davis of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said in a statement tied to the settlement that the case tested “our national commitment to free speech” most in “times of turmoil and heightened tensions.” Davis said when government officials fail that test, “the Constitution exists to hold them accountable,” and he added that the settlement should send a message to law enforcement that they must respect the First Amendment or face similar consequences.
As covered in this broader pattern of government accountability after legal disputes, MSI previously reported on another settlement proposal involving alleged misconduct by authorities in the case of Ronald Greene. In Bushart’s case, the agreement marks the latest resolution after a prosecution that rights advocates said turned on protected online speech.