After more than a month, a Tennessee man jailed for posting an accurate quote
of Donald Trump as a meme has had
the charges against him dropped.
He was charged for posting a meme accurately quoting Donald Trump's quote about a school shooting to an online discussion about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
In a series of shifting narratives from the county sheriff regarding this, he has claimed that:
- This was a threat against a school in his county. (It was not)
- That parents called him thinking it was a threat. (they didn't)
- That the Lexington PD was coordinating with his office in an attempt to deescalate the situation. (They hadn't)
On a more serious note, I think that it is time for us as a society to review the wisdom of having elected sheriffs. It seems to me that this does little to safeguard the populace, creates an incentive for demagogues to misuse their authority. (see Joe Arpai0)
The saga of a 61-year-old man jailed for more than a month after reposting a Facebook meme has ended, but free speech advocates are still reeling in the wake.
On Wednesday, Larry Bushart was released from Perry County Jail, where he had spent weeks unable to make bail, which a judge set at $2 million. Prosecutors have not explained why the charges against him were dropped, according to The Intercept, which has been tracking the case closely. However, officials faced mounting pressure following media coverage and a social media campaign called “Free Larry Bushart,” which stoked widespread concern over suspected police censorship of a US citizen over his political views.
Bushart is now planning to sue, his attorney Joshua Phillips told The Washington Post.
I'm hoping that he bankrupts Perry County Tennessee and its sheriff, Nick Weems.
………
[Perry County sheriff, Nick ] Weems justified the arrest by claiming that Bushart’s meme represented a true threat, since “investigators believe Bushart was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community,” The Tennessean reported. But “there was no evidence of any hysteria,” The Intercept reported, leading media outlets to pick apart Weems’ story.
Perhaps most suspicious were Weems’ claims that Bushart had callously refused to take down his post after cops told him that people were scared that he was threatening a school shooting.
The Intercept and Nashville’s CBS affiliate, NewsChannel 5, secured bodycam footage from the Lexington cop that undermined Weems’ narrative. The footage clearly showed the cop did not understand why the Perry County sheriff had taken issue with Bushart’s Facebook post.
If Weems had considered this to be a credible threat, he would not have offered to make it go away if Bushart withdrew the post.
Weems is a lying fascist thug.
We really need to start jailing law enforcement when they do this. Consent decrees and training don't work.
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