A Tennessee man was jailed over his Charlie Kirk social media comments. Now he's won a $835,000 settlement

May 20, 2026 1:30 PM EDT

Tennessee officials will pay $835,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who was jailed for more than a month over a Facebook post he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

While many people across the U.S. lost their jobs over social media comments about Kirk's death, Larry Bushart's case stood out as a rare instance in which such online speech led to criminal prosecution. The 61-year-old retired police officer spent 37 days behind bars before authorities dropped the felony charge against him in October.

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During his time in jail, Bushart lost his postretirement job and missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter, according to a federal lawsuit Bushart filed in December against Perry County, its sheriff and the investigator who obtained the arrest warrant.