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Have there been any notable cases of meme-related arrests in the US in 2024 or 2025?
Executive summary
Yes. Reporting documents a notable 2025 U.S. arrest tied to a reposted political meme: 61‑year‑old Larry Bushart Jr. was arrested in September 2025 under a Tennessee “threats of mass violence” law for sharing a Trump meme and spent about five weeks jailed before prosecutors dropped charges [1] [2] [3].
1. The case at the center: who, what, where
Larry Bushart Jr., a retired Tennessee law‑enforcement officer, was arrested after posting a meme featuring President Donald Trump with the quote “We have to get over it” (a quote from Trump’s response to a January 2024 Perry, Iowa, school shooting) in a Facebook group discussing a vigil for Charlie Kirk; Perry County officials charged him under a 2024 Tennessee statute criminalizing threats against schools [4] [2] [5].
2. Timeline and outcome: detention, publicity, charges dropped
Bushart was arrested on Sept. 21–22, 2025, held on a high bond (reported by some outlets as $2 million), spent roughly 37 days or about five weeks in jail, attracted national media attention and free‑speech advocacy support, and was ultimately released when prosecutors dropped the charges in late October 2025 [6] [2] [1] [3] [7].
3. Law invoked and officials’ justification
Sheriff Nick Weems and the Perry County Sheriff’s Office said the meme—because it referenced “Perry High School” in fine print and was posted amid local grief—was interpreted by some residents as implying a threat to a local Perry County High School; Weems cited the 2024 Tennessee law aimed at school threats as the basis for the arrest [5] [2] [8].
4. Evidence, public reaction, and competing narratives
Local video and reporting raised questions about whether the meme was actually perceived as a genuine threat: multiple outlets report little clear evidence that the post generated widespread panic or that school officials documented concern, while free‑speech advocates argued the arrest chilled protected political expression [1] [2] [9] [4]. Authorities say community anxiety prompted investigation; critics say officials responded to “hysteria” without adequate investigation [8] [5] [7].
5. Legal and First Amendment context
Advocacy groups and civil‑liberties commentators framed Bushart’s case as emblematic of tensions between true‑threat law and political satire/memes: commentators note legal limits exist for “true threats,” but argue memes often lack the mens rea or imminence required to criminalize speech, raising concerns about overbroad application of threat statutes [2] [10] [7].
6. Broader pattern — are there other notable meme‑arrests in 2024–2025?
Available sources in this set focus heavily on the Bushart arrest as the prominent recent U.S. example in 2025; other materials emphasize historical prosecutions tied to political memes (e.g., prior legal disputes over meme speech and convictions discussed in legal scholarship) but do not document other distinct high‑profile U.S. meme arrests in 2024 or 2025 beyond this Tennessee case in the provided reporting [10] [1]. Available sources do not mention additional, separate notable meme‑related arrests nationwide in 2024–2025.
7. Where reporting disagrees and why it matters
Coverage diverges on motive and facts: local law enforcement frames the arrest as a defensive public‑safety response to perceived threats [5] [11], while national outlets and civil‑liberties groups portray it as an overreach that punished political expression and lacked evidentiary support [1] [2] [7]. Those competing framings matter because they shape whether future prosecutions of provocative online content will be viewed as legitimate threat‑prevention or as censorship.
8. Practical takeaway for meme‑posters and journalists
The Bushart episode shows that meme‑sharing can trigger criminal investigation when officials interpret context as a threat, and that outcomes may depend as much on local law enforcement choices and public attention as on clear legal standards; observers warn this interplay risks chilling speech unless prosecutors and courts carefully distinguish satire, commentary and genuine threats [2] [1] [10].
Limitations: this analysis uses only the supplied reporting and legal commentary; it does not attempt to assess unreported prosecutions or cases outside the provided sources — available sources do not mention other specific U.S. meme‑arrests in 2024–2025 beyond the Tennessee case summarized above [1] [2].