Nationwide — Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old Tennessee man accused of threatening mass violence after sharing a meme referencing Donald Trump, has been released from jail after all charges against him were dropped. He had been jailed for more than a month.
Bushart was arrested on September 22 for allegedly threatening mass violence on school property. The charge came after he commented on a Facebook post about a vigil for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. His post featured a meme of Trump saying “We have to get over it,” a quote from the president after a school shooting in Iowa, along with the caption “This seems relevant today.”
According to USA Today, the image alarmed some parents and teachers in Perry County who believed Bushart was implying a school attack. Sheriff Nick Weems said the post sparked fear in the community and claimed Bushart knew it would cause panic.
Bushart, a former Huntingdon police officer, had been held on a $2 million bond before his release on October 29. The Perry County Circuit Court Clerk confirmed that the district attorney’s office decided to drop the case that same day.
Body camera footage from the arrest later showed Bushart joking with officers, saying he had “been in Facebook jail but now I’m really in it.” The footage also showed that officers themselves appeared unsure about the exact nature of the alleged threat.
The case gained national attention for what many described as an excessive reaction to online speech. Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones wrote to local authorities, criticizing what he called a “flagrant misuse of state law to suppress and compel speech.”
Free speech advocates, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, questioned whether Bushart’s meme posed any actual danger. Records later showed no evidence from Perry County schools that his post had caused public panic.
Supporters launched a Facebook page, “Justice for Larry Bushart,” arguing that his arrest showed how loosely written threat laws can criminalize protected expression. Similar cases under the same law have led to the arrests of students for online comments later deemed lawful.