Tag Archives: Perry County TN

37 Days in Jail For Posting a Meme | County Pays $835,000 | Sheriff Gaslights Public

Posted on by
Reply

A couple of months ago I told you the story of Larry Bushart, who spent 37 days behind bars simply for posting a meme in a Facebook group. That video was a collaboration with FIRE, a national nonprofit First Amendment advocacy organization, who had just filed the civil rights lawsuit against Perry County, Tennessee, Sheriff Nick Weems and Investigator Jason Morrow, for multiple constitutional violations. That case just settled. Despite costing taxpayers in his county almost a million dollars due to his total disregard of Larry’s constitutional rights, Sheriff Nick Weems remains defiant, blaming everyone but himself.

37 Days in Jail For Posting a Meme on Facebook

Posted on by
Reply

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:

BushartComplaintDownload