Free speech lawsuits mount after Charlie Kirk assassination
By Curt_Anderson February 16, 2026 11:32 am Category: Law
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(NPR & local sources)
Five months after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of lawsuits reveals how Americans were investigated, fired, and in one case, arrested for their online reactions to his death.
The most dramatic case involves Larry Bushart, a retired police officer in Lexington, Tenn. A self-described progressive and "keyboard warrior," he'd been posting memes that mocked Republican officials' mourning over Kirk. Then local police came to his door. [snip]
The sheriff had him arrested. [Sheriff Nick] Weems wouldn't speak to NPR, but last fall he spoke to NewsChannel Five in Nashville. At the time, he blamed Bushart for refusing to delete the post.
"We sent Lexington police department out to speak to him, and he refused to do that," Weems said. "What kind of person does that? What kind of person says he don't care, 'I'm not taking it down?'"
Bushart spent 37 days in jail over that Facebook meme — unable to afford the $2 million bond. As negative publicity mounted, prosecutors dropped the charges. Now he's suing, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
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