Retired cop jailed for 37 days over Charlie Kirk meme sues, saying his First Amendment rights were violated | CNN Politics
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A retired Tennessee law enforcement officer was held in jail for more than a month this fall after police arrested him because of a Facebook post of a meme related to the September assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

A retired Tennessee law enforcement officer was held in jail for more than a month this fall after police arrested him over a Facebook post of a meme related to the September assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Prosecutors eventually dropped the criminal charge brought against Larry Bushart, but his stint behind bars came to exemplify the country’s tense political and legal climate following the tragedy, when conservatives sought to stymie public discourse about the late controversial figure that it saw as objectionable.

Now, Bushart is suing over his incarceration.

      • blazeknave@lemmy.world
        162·
        2 days ago

        This dude literally kept his chin up and went to jail after multiple threats. I’m not ignorant about more than a couple bad apples. I understand the implicit complicity of by standing quietly. I don’t need the lectures, so let’s focus and not whatabout. This single person, is not a bastard. Say what you will, but bastards equals no greater than all minus one, bc this dude. Wrong fucking thread.

        • pornpornporn@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
          1·
          2 hours ago

          ‘A couple bad apples’ isn’t an excuse for bad cops, that’s the complete opposite of what the phrase means.

          It’s “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch”. It works like that for literal apples and for cops too. Even if a cop doesn’t go around crushing necks with his knees, if he’s willing to tolerate the bad cops that do that makes him a bad cop too.

          Good cops don’t survive to retirement. This particular guy is completely right in this situation, but ACAB is still true

        • hypnotoad@lemmy.mlEnglish
          183·
          2 days ago

          ACAB is saying that a system creates bad people; it takes what could have been good and morphs them due to corruption and inherent injustice.

          No matter how good the dude, if they follow through on evil orders, they’ve committed an evil act. And you can’t tell me that this (otherwise good and moral dude) didn’t follow don’t evil orders at some point

          I guarantee that as a cop, he committed some terrible shit acts that would make you sad. In the name of the law. And therefore, ACAB.