Man Jailed For Posting a Trump Meme

61-year-old Larry Bushart Jr is an anomaly in Lexington, Tennessee. Whereas the majority of voters in that city and surrounding Henderson County (and for that matter the whole state) chose Donald Trump for President in 2024, judging from his Facebook posts, the retired law enforcement officer is deeply and justifiably afraid for democracy in the United States and has regularly posted memes and videos sharply criticizing the likes of Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Charlie Kirk. In particular, he believed that the latter did not deserve to be lionized, as it is well known that Charlie Kirk built his career on spreading prejudice and arguing in bad faith.

In September 2025, Bushart noticed a post about a candlelight vigil honoring Charlie Kirk to be held in Linden, Tennessee on the 23rd and proceeded to troll away. One of the memes he shared depicted a graphic display of the moment of impact. Another meme referenced President Trump's insensitive quote following a school shooting in Perry, Iowa in January 2024 to the effect of “We have to get over it,” ostensibly taking into account the fact that Charlie Kirk was taking a stand in opposition to gun control at the very moment he was shot and killed. Bushart also added the caption, “This seems relevant today.” 

Though sufficient context was present, shortly after Bushart posted the meme, he was arrested and charged with threatening mass violence at a school.

Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems remarked to WOPC, “One of the images posted by Mr. Bushart alluded to a hypothetical shooting at a place called Perry High School. That message caused considerable concern within the community and we were asked to investigate.”

Though there is a Perry County High School within Sheriff Weems’ jurisdiction, Larry Bushart Jr was in fact referring to the actual school shooting in Perry, Iowa, in which seventeen-year-old student Dylan Butler shot five students and three staff members before killing himself. Fortunately, there has not yet been a school shooting in Perry County, Tennessee. 

Sheriff Weems has since clarified via a now-deleted Facebook comment, “We were very much aware of the meme being from an Iowa shooting … [The meme] created mass hysteria to parents and teachers (sic) … that led the normal person to conclude that he was talking about our Perry County High School.” Despite sharp pushback from civilians via social media, some calling for litigation, Sheriff Weems doubled down on his position, telling The Tennesseean, "Investigators believe Bushart was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community."

However, a cursory Google Lens search will show that other social media users with no connection to Larry Bushart Jr have shared the meme with no consequences whatsoever. In that case, Sheriff Weems’ claim seems rather disingenuous.

As of 23 October 2025, The Intercept has reported that Larry Bushart Jr is still being held on $2 million dollar bond and that he would have to pay a bondsman a minimum of $210,000 to be released ahead of trial.

Taking in this bizarre and troubling story, there are so many things one cannot help but wonder. Did some vindictive snitch misrepresent information to law enforcement? Are the cops in question stupid enough to miss the blatant context at work? Are they deliberately ignoring it to take advantage of the opportunity to punish someone for opposing President Trump? Can something somebody posts in a truly innocuous meme be twisted around with a view to sending the law after them? Is free speech being attacked under color of law?