**From the Party-of-Free-Speech, Local Sheriff Edition**
There’s a concerted effort to punish anyone who dares show anything less than complete, unqualified reverence for Charlie Kirk’s corpse. The man who made millions denigrating anyone who wasn’t as white, straight, and “Christian” as he was is now apparently above reproach—simply because he’s been murdered.
That would be troubling enough on its own. But government officials, from local sheriffs to the Trump administration itself, have piled on, turning Charlie Kirk into a martyr and using their power to silence his critics.
Tennessee resident Larry Bushart Jr. personally found out how far some Charlie Kirk fans are willing to go to punish those who aren’t admirers of Kirk. Here’s how it went for him once the local sheriff got involved.
Bushart’s case ignited a firestorm of controversy after he was arrested, jailed, and slapped with a $2 million bail over a social media post. His supposed crime? Making a threat of mass violence against a school in a neighboring county.
In reality, all Bushart had done was repost a meme.
On Saturday, September 20, Bushart visited a community page called “What’s Happening in Perry County, TN” and trolled a thread about an upcoming vigil honoring Charlie Kirk.
What made his post a crime? He directly quoted Donald Trump on the Facebook page.
One of Bushart’s posts featured a photo of President Trump, accompanied by the quote: “We have to get over it,” referencing Trump’s response to a 2024 school shooting in Perry, Iowa.
That was enough for the local sheriff to start abusing his power. After all, Bushart had insulted one of his personal heroes.
The post caught the attention of Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems, who had publicly mourned Kirk and shared information about the vigil.
Weems exploited a terrible Tennessee law originally written to help curb school shootings—but more often used to punish people for what should be protected speech.
Law enforcement officers often feign ignorance when questioned about questionable arrests or searches. But in this case, Sheriff Weems knew exactly what he was doing—using the law to jail someone he disagreed with.
He claimed the post had stirred “mass hysteria” in the community due to its reference to Perry High School—a reference that personally offended the sheriff.
The Perry County Schools District did not respond to inquiries from The Intercept. However, attorneys from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed multiple open records requests with the district, seeking any communications related to the case containing keywords like “shooting,” “threat,” and “meme.”
In response, the school district’s director stated there were no records pertaining to Bushart’s case. “The Perry County Sheriff’s Department handled this situation,” he wrote.
It’s one thing to have a neighbor who thinks you’re a bit of a prick. It’s quite another when that neighbor is the local sheriff.
This bogus arrest, combined with an outrageous $2 million bail, cost Bushart 40 days of his life. He missed the birth of his grandchild and lost his post-retirement job.
All that’s certain now is that Sheriff Weems is facing a lawsuit.
No doubt he will argue that the state law justifies his actions and defend the lies he told to cover them up.
With a nation full of Charlie Kirk acolytes ready to lash out at anyone who doesn’t treat him like a minor deity, we can expect more cases like this in the future.
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/03/man-arrested-by-charlie-kirk-fan-sheriff-for-directly-quoting-donald-trump/
