Former Tennessee officer awarded $835K after wrongful incarceration over Charlie Kirk meme
A retired Tennessee law enforcement officer, Larry Bushart, settled a federal wrongful incarceration lawsuit for $835,000 after being jailed for 37 days over a Facebook meme about Charlie Kirk; the charges were dropped once he couldn’t pay a $2 million bond. The settlement, funded by the county’s insurer, does not acknowledge wrongdoing and highlights First Amendment protections in the context of social media expression.