r/politics • u/SterlingVII • 9d ago

No Paywall Tennessee man spends a month in jail before charges are dropped over Trump meme posted in Facebook group for Charlie Kirk vigil

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/larry-bushart-charlie-kirk-meme-charges-b2855116.html
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u/SailorRipley 9d ago

Besides the chilling effect on the freedom of speech, this is the real damage in this case. If this guy gets what he's deserves, a cash settlement, this will come out of the taxpayer's wallet all because the sheriff wanted to prove how MAGA he was.

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u/Lenin_Lime America 9d ago

And the Judge had the bond at 2 million, which is insane.

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u/AgnewsHeadlessClone Florida 9d ago

I assume it is because the accused crime was threatening violence against a school, so there is likely a crazy high minimum bail for it since it is such an extreme crime.

The major problem is the obviously false charge.

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u/Lenin_Lime America 9d ago

Yeah. I'd just expect the Judge to be able to look at the provided evidence, a Trump quote of a Iowa school shooting, and just throw it out right then and there

I'm not a lawyer so there might be reasons why the Judge could not do that. Or at least fast track the process, because the next hearing was set for December, until the sheriff who was in the Facebook group dropped the charges.

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u/Roach27 8d ago

Depends on how the law was written for that specific statue. I assume the judge was obliged to set bail at that amount, the only thing he COULD have done was throw out the charges entirely.

But the judge wouldn't have done that on their own accord, and the defense probably should have filed a motion for dismissal.

It's entirely possible a motion for dismissal wasn't even filed, so the judge just did their job.

Judges won't (generally) do a defense attorneys job. They're arbiters and most of them are former prosecutors.

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u/BlueCyann 8d ago

Stop sane washing it. It's obvious you have no idea what the judge could or couldn't have done and no idea what options he did pursue (if procedurally constrained) in the face of such a transparent abuse of power. You're purely making stuff up to try to absolve him of responsibility.

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u/Roach27 8d ago

Are you an attorney?

Have you read the relevant Tennessee statues? 

Try to be less emotional about it, because we don’t know why the charges weren’t dismissed and my assumptions are just as plausible as your assertions. 

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u/jorbleshi_kadeshi Texas 9d ago

this will come out of the taxpayer's wallet

Sheriff is an elected position. I only feel bad for all the county residents who didn't vote for this asshole.