37 Days in Jail For Posting a Meme on Facebook

In America, we don’t jail people for political speech. Yet Larry Bushart spent 37 days behind bars simply for posting a meme in a Facebook group. Perry County, Tennessee Sheriff Nick Weems sent cops to Larry’s home to intimidate him over a Facebook meme he posted. But he wasn’t intimidated. He knew his rights and didn’t back down. So then the sheriff obtained an arrest warrant that he knew was false and had Larry arrested and then put in jail for over a month. Only after national public outrage did county officials drop the charges and set Larry free. But now Larry’s out for justice and he’s being helped by FIRE, a national nonprofit First Amendment advocacy organization, who has now filed a civil rights lawsuit on his behalf. I got a chance to talk with Larry’s lawyer about the case – what actually happened, why it was so egregious, and how you can help.

DONATE to FIRE: https://www.fire.org/donate

The lawsuit:

Ignorant Mayor Orders Arrest, Gets Sued, LOSES in Court

In Newton, Iowa in 2022, disgraced police officer Nathan Winters falsely arrested Tayvin Galanakis, a completely sober college football player for DUI. A local kid, Noah Peterson, was outraged and calmly criticized the Newton Police Department, as well as the Newton Mayor, during a city council meeting. The ignorant and corrupt mayor ordered his arrest, in violation of the First Amendment. The Institute for Justice took on his case, filed a lawsuit, and just scored a huge win for free speech. I got the chance to speak with Patrick Jaicomo, Senior Attorney with the Institute for Justice about Noah’s case.

Video Deposition of the Supervisor Who Ordered the False Arrest of Demetrius Kern (update Part 2)

This is Part 2 of the update on the viral video arrest of Demetrius Kern from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, which I originally covered in July of 2023, along with Mr. Kern’s attorney, Chris Wiest. Mr. Kern had been falsely arrested and charged after he was almost hit by a police cruiser driven by Officer Carly Lewis, whose video deposition was featured in Part 1 of this update. That arrest was primarily at the direction of Officer Lewis’ supervisor, Sgt. Naftali Wolf, whose video deposition is detailed in this video.

Here is the original video from July, 2023.

Here is Part 1. And here is Part 2:

Here is the main brief by Mr. Kern’s attorneys that I walked you through in the video, using the video deposition excerpts they actually cited in the brief:

If you want to go further into the weeds, here is the motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant Wolf’s lawyers (to which the above brief is responding in opposition):

As I mentioned in the video, as of this date, the Court has not yet ruled on the pending motions. Which means that the case is just hanging in limbo with nothing happening, until such time as there is a ruling. The ruling will decide whether or not the lawsuit gets dismissed, or whether it proceeds to a jury trial. This is fairly unusual for a delay of this length to occur in federal court – though sometimes does happen).

Arrested for “Improperly Crossing the Road” (while recording cops)

Gerald Shields saw an unusually large number of cop cars at a traffic stop. He began filming them from across the public street. No yelling, no interference, no threats. Just recording what police officers were doing – in public, from a safe distance. But minutes later, Gerald was face-down on the ground, injured, and under arrest. The alleged crime? Improperly crossing the street. But as it turns out, that wasn’t actually a crime. The officers were just harassing Gerald because he was filming them. They didn’t even deny it… 

Chief Deputy Grabs Woman on a Public Sidewalk, Forces Her to Stop Recording

On August 5, 2025 in Huntington, West Virginia, Chief Deputy Chuck Zerkle of the Cabell County (West Virginia) Sheriff’s Office grabbed a woman filming the arrest of a homeless man from a public sidewalk near the courthouse. He forced the woman, a social worker, to stop filming what she perceived to be police officers engaged in a gratuitous use of force outside of view of surveillance cameras (while not wearing body cams). Fortunately, another woman was also recording…

The lawsuit:

Driver Honks at Cop Car Idling at Green Light, Gets Arrested 5 Minutes Later

Matthew Edwards, a hard working welder, had just worked a 14 hour shift and was waiting to turn into his neighborhood in Troy, New York. A marked police car was waiting at a red light in front of him at the intersection where he was waiting to make a left turn onto the street where he lives. But when the light turned green, the police car didn’t move. After waiting a few moments, Matthew briefly honked his horn to alert the distracted police officer that the light had turned green. Within 5 minutes, Matthew would be violently arrested by that officer, Taylor Ganache with the Troy Police Department.

The police report:

The lawsuit:

Trooper Gets SUED AGAIN for Arresting Innocent Door Dash Driver | Lawsuit & Bodycam

A little over two weeks ago, I posted a video showing Kentucky State Police Trooper Myron Jackson wrongfully arresting a mom of three who was on her own porch, filming Trooper Jackson’s illegal traffic stop. The bogus criminal charge against the mom was dropped by prosecutors and a lawsuit was filed. Now yet another lawsuit has been filed against Trooper Jackson – this time for the wrongful arrest of an innocent Door Dash driver. I have the exclusive first look at the lawsuit and the bodycam footage. Just like the prior video, prosecutors dropped the bogus criminal charge. But looking a little deeper into the Kentucky State Police, it’s no huge mystery where Jackson learned to make these sorts of unconstitutional arrests.

The lawsuit:

The 6th Circuit opinion from the Phillip Burnett video:

The full Phillip Burnett video:

Officer Magnifico, Who Lost His Temper, Slammed Kid at Sheetz, Has RESIGNED (but not really)

Officer Rob Magnifico, formerly the chief of the Ellwood City (PA) Police Department, was demoted in June after he slammed a kid on the ground at a Sheetz gas station for using the “F” word while demanding his cell phone be returned, which he had previously accidentally left at the gas station. Apparently Magnifico recently resigned – but unfortunately, not from Ellwood City. Instead, he is challenging his prior discipline, and may actually be making more money, while exercising essentially the same authority as before his demotion.

Cop Slams Kid Asking For His Phone Back | Now Suspended | But More Videos Surface

At a Sheetz gas station in Ellwood City, PA, Officer Rob Magnifico of the Elwood City PD threw a kid on the ground after the kid asked for his phone to be returned. Even though Magnifico wasn’t wearing a bodycam, another kid filmed the incident. Then Magnifico knocked the phone out of the kid’s hand. Then the kid’s mom posted the video on Facebook, which resulted in Magnifico getting suspended. But was it enough? More videos of Officer Magnifico have surfaced.

Media reports referenced in the video:

Man Secretly Records Cop Lose It & Attack, Taser, Arrest Him for Cursing in Public

Ellwood City officer demoted, suspended without pay after confrontation with man at gas station

Police officer under investigation after confrontation with man at gas station

After video shows Ellwood City officer confronting man, another shares similar encounter

Magnifico to stay on Ellwood police force, but demoted to patrolman

The mom’s Facebook post:

“Anabolic Cop” Gets Fired | New Video Shows Why He Left the Last Department (Probably)

Elkins Police Department (former) Officer Christian Mayle has now been terminated, following my last video detailing his recent arrest. As promised, here’s new video footage showing the likely reason that he resigned from his last department, the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department, the day prior to being hired by Elkins Police Department. It shows then-Deputy Mayle trespassing onto an innocent homeowner’s property and confronting him during a deer-strike call that occurred in front of the man’s home. When the man asked the deputy to move is police cruiser so that it didn’t block his driveway, Mayle went anabolic…

Last Video: https://youtu.be/QKYN2rZ8-s8?si=znEtDw9HDp5-ZPIc

First Video: https://youtu.be/oLJsKVNH3Nw?si=G5-dM4bAJRtaB051