A retired Tennessee law enforcement officer has been released from jail after spending over a month behind bars for posting a meme that referenced President Donald Trump's response to a school shooting. Larry Bushart, 61, was arrested in late September and charged with threatening mass violence at a school under a state law enacted this year.
The meme in question featured an image of Trump with the caption "We have to get over it," referencing his previous statement about a school shooting in Iowa. The line added by Bushart, "This seems relevant today," was seen as hyperbolic and not explicit enough to constitute a true threat. Despite this, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems defended the arrest as necessary to calm fears in the community.
However, free-speech advocates have criticized the arrest, arguing that it represents law enforcement overreach. Matthew Cavedon, director of the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice, stated that Bushart's arrest and confinement violated the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech except for true threats.
The decision to drop the charge was made without explanation, allowing Bushart to be released from jail. His lawyer confirmed the release in an email to the New York Times but provided no further details.
Weems acknowledged that investigators knew the meme referred to a real Iowa tragedy and contained no explicit threats. However, he maintained that Bushart's refusal to delete the post left authorities little choice. The sheriff questioned Bushart's character, saying what kind of person refuses to remove a post leading people to believe there was a hypothetical school shooting.
The case raises questions about the limits of free speech in the face of law enforcement action. It remains to be seen how this incident will shape the debate on freedom of expression and the role of authorities in policing online activity.
The meme in question featured an image of Trump with the caption "We have to get over it," referencing his previous statement about a school shooting in Iowa. The line added by Bushart, "This seems relevant today," was seen as hyperbolic and not explicit enough to constitute a true threat. Despite this, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems defended the arrest as necessary to calm fears in the community.
However, free-speech advocates have criticized the arrest, arguing that it represents law enforcement overreach. Matthew Cavedon, director of the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice, stated that Bushart's arrest and confinement violated the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech except for true threats.
The decision to drop the charge was made without explanation, allowing Bushart to be released from jail. His lawyer confirmed the release in an email to the New York Times but provided no further details.
Weems acknowledged that investigators knew the meme referred to a real Iowa tragedy and contained no explicit threats. However, he maintained that Bushart's refusal to delete the post left authorities little choice. The sheriff questioned Bushart's character, saying what kind of person refuses to remove a post leading people to believe there was a hypothetical school shooting.
The case raises questions about the limits of free speech in the face of law enforcement action. It remains to be seen how this incident will shape the debate on freedom of expression and the role of authorities in policing online activity.
I mean, it's one thing to investigate a post, but to arrest someone for months just because they didn't delete it? That feels like an overreach if you ask me 
. And now they've dropped the charges without explaining why... 
It's like, what was the point of arresting him in the first place?
I think free speech advocates make some valid points here. We need to be careful about how we balance our right to express ourselves with public safety concerns... but arresting someone for a month seems like a pretty extreme measure 
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That's when we really need to take a step back and think about what's at stake here. We can't let fear of online discourse become a tool for law enforcement...
And now it seems like law enforcement is trying to regulate what we post online? It's all about balance, right? But when does free speech become a threat? 
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, implying that Bushart is some kind of troll who refuses to take responsibility for his words. But what about when we disagree with someone online? Shouldn't we be allowed to express our dissenting opinions without fear of reprisal? 
... like, i get it, some people might take offense, but is a little bit of humor really worth throwing someone in jail? 
... but let's hope this whole thing sparks a bigger conversation about online freedom and accountability 
. Still, I think there's gotta be some nuance here somewhere 
. Can't have people being arrested for poking fun at serious issues, but can't just let anyone go around spewing hate online either 
.
. Anyway, glad Bushart is out of there, but now we're left wondering what the future holds for online free speech 
meanwhile, I'm over here thinking "we have to get over it" and you're like "nope, let's make a meme about it" 
larry bushart was totally harassed for 30 days over a meme 
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If people are worried, maybe they should just unfollow him or block his tweets instead of locking him up? 
It's wild how the sheriff thought Bushart was trying to incite some kind of riot or something. I don't think the guy meant any harm at all.
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. Not cool, man 
. It feels like they were trying to control what we say online way more than actually keeping us safe