Man Jailed After Sharing Charlie Kirk Meme, Raising First amendment Concerns
Perry County, Ohio – Larry Bushart, a Perry County resident, remains incarcerated after being charged with telecommunications โฃharassment and aggravated menacing forโค sharing a meme comparing conservative speaker Charlie Kirk to a school shooter on Facebook. The case, which has drawn criticism from First Amendment advocates, centers on a post bushart made in response to a local high school โhonoring Kirk with a speakingโ engagement.
The meme, shared on โOctober 17th,โฃ juxtaposed a photo of Kirkโค with anโข image related โto the Oxford High โSchool shooting, prompting outrage from some and ultimately โleading to Bushart’s arrest on october 26th. โคperry County Sheriff’s Deputy, during a phone call with โ The โขIntercept, โstated โขrecords related to the case would require a subpoena due toโ “scrutiny andโ the harassing phone calls” โthe office had received, before abruptly ending the conversation. Sheriff Weems later โemailed the publication, stating the department’s โFacebook page had been slated for deletion since July and declined โfurther comment, citing “false quotes” circulating about the case.
Bushart’s lawyer has not yet responded โคto requests for comment. His wife has declinedโฃ to speak on theโ record, and his son has publicly defended โhim on social media, calling the prosecution “anโข egregious violation โคof his 1st Amendment rights” and assertingโข the โฃmeme was intended โคto highlight “the hypocrisy in honoring Charlie kirk while ignoring other tragic incidents of mass violence.”
First Amendment attorney Ken Steinbaugh, who has litigated โขsimilar cases nationwide, expressed concern over the prolonged detention.”Oneโ thing that’s unique about โขit is indeed that nobody has done a course correction here,”โ steinbaugh told The Intercept. “It would be one thing toโข have law enforcement overreacting โand detaining someone โฆ andโ then the next day, saying, ‘OK, message received, we’ve โdone our due diligence.That’s all we need to do here.’โฃ This guy’s been โincarcerated since this happened over quoting the president. Cooler heads should have prevailed by now.”
A GiveSendGoโ account has been established to raise fundsโ for Bushart’s legal defense, arguing the โฃcaseโข represents “a stand against overzealous law enforcement acting on skewed interpretations of free speech.” As of today,bushart faces the possibility of spending Thanksgiving in jailโ while the โcase โคproceeds.
FIRE โค(the Foundation for โIndividualโข Rights and Expression) hasโข submitted records requests to the Perry County Sheriff’s Office, which have gone unanswered. The case raises questions โฃabout the boundaries of free speech and the potential forโ overcriminalization of online expression.
