Perry County, Tennessee, will pay $835,000 to resolve a First Amendment lawsuit filed by Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old retired police officer who spent 37 days in jail after posting a Facebook message about the killing of conservative personality Charlie Kirk.
Bushart was arrested in September 2025 on a felony charge of making a threat, according to court records. Authorities dropped the charge in October after a month-long incarceration that Bushart says cost him his post-retirement job and kept him from celebrating his wedding anniversary and witnessing the birth of his granddaughter. His federal lawsuit, filed in December, named Perry County, its sheriff, and the investigator who obtained the arrest warrant as defendants.
“I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Bushart said in a statement Wednesday announcing the settlement. “The people’s freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy. I am looking forward to moving on and spending time with my family.”
The case stood out as a criminal prosecution of online speech, even as many Americans lost their jobs or faced other consequences over social media posts about Kirk’s assassination. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent ally of Donald Trump, was killed in March 2025, triggering a wave of online commentary that sometimes drew law enforcement attention.
The settlement brings an end to Bushart’s legal action against the Tennessee county, and the payment will be made by the county’s insurer, according to the settlement terms.