\n[Charlie Bushart] has been arrested and charged with threat of mass violence in connection to a series of social media posts he made about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination.<\/a>
\u2026
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems told The Tennessean in a statement that participants on the page were planning to host a Charlie Kirk vigil in Linden, Tennessee on Sept. 23.<\/p>\nBushart posted multiple photos in the comments referencing Charlie Kirk\u2019s death, which Weems called \u201chate memes,\u201d<\/a> but stated were \u201cnot against the law and would be recognized as free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The meme that seemed to get Bushart in trouble included a direct quote from Trump responding to a question about school shootings by saying, \u201cWe have to get over [them].\u201d That was enough to make people think that he was talking about a hypothetical school shooting and that he intended to \u201ccreate hysteria within the community.\u201d What a fucking reach! If only police departments were this vigilant whenever a victim of domestic abuse warns the department that they\u2019re being stalked or that someone is directing threats toward them.<\/p>\n
The arrest speaks to how easy it would be for the government to use social media as a surveillance tool to gauge if the thoughts we share fall out of line. And considering the recent antifa classification, saying something as simple as \u201cThe president and the media\u2019s insistence on blaming Charlie Kirk\u2019s murder on a left-wing \u2018they<\/a>\u2019 before there was any shred of motive was an obvious attempt to create division that, like de-legitimizing the free press as fake, were tactics shared by Nazi Germany<\/a>\u201d could get you put on a list for supporting terrorism. Thank God that was just a lengthy hypothetical, by the way.<\/p>\n
The go-to thought would be: Well, that\u2019s good advice for people who were dumb enough to say anything involving Charlie Kirk. I\u2019m smart enough to not get caught up in that. Good for you, but the antifa hunt will be going back further than whatever has been said in the last two weeks:<\/p>\n
\n \n\nWhite House memo on Trump’s new “domestic terrorism” designation mentions people who “celebrated Luigi Mangione”https:\/\/t.co\/ZU72VdY5xI<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) September 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
If you\u2019re reading this and you\u2019re one of the people who donated to Mangione\u2019s GoFundMe to help ensure that he was able to afford a fair trial, you may want to make sure that your donation was anonymous. Given the leeway required to read Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s joke about Trump\u2019s architectural pivot as \u201cdeplorable\u201d and \u201cdisgraceful\u201d \u2014 even by a Republican who was supporting his right to say it on the air \u2014 it isn\u2019t too much of a push for the state to argue that anyone who tweeted a pro-Mangione message, let alone donated to his legal defense fund, materially benefited a \u201cterrorist.\u201d The scare quotes are there because a New York judge literally threw out the terrorism charges on the basis that the evidence wasn\u2019t strong enough, but I doubt that a little thing like \u201cfacts\u201d will prevent the title from flying around.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next on the domestic terrorism qualification list? Any post critical of ICE? It\u2019s a dangerous downward slope for free speech and multimillionaire late night show hosts aren\u2019t the only ones that should be worried about sliding down it.<\/p>\n
Tennessee Man Arrested In Connection To Charlie Kirk Social Media Posts<\/a> [The Tennessean]<\/p>\n
Earlier: Luigi Mangione Pulls $300K From Grassroots Funds To Bolster His Case<\/a><\/p>\n
Luigi Mangione\u2019s Terrorism Charges Recently Dismissed<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim,\u00a0is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com <\/a>and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
The post \u2018We\u2019re All Jimmy Kimmel\u2019 Could Hit A Little Closer To Home Than You Think<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Jimmy Kimmel suspension and return has felt more rapturous than the alleged Rapture was. And as understandable as it is that it has grabbed many people\u2019s attention, it isn\u2019t the only huge attempt at chilling free speech that happened this week. On Monday, the White House announced an executive order that designates \u201cantifa\u201d (short for anti-fascist) as a domestic terrorist organization. There\u2019s the obvious: anti-fascism isn\u2019t an organization \u2014 there\u2019s no chain of command or locus of operation that an organization would require to function. It is merely an idea \u2014 if you\u2019re against a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition \u2014 you\u2019re an anti-fascist. You\u2019d also, for a good part of our country\u2019s history, be doing your part as a patriot. No, this is a practical call to awareness that the government is using executive orders as a cudgel to free speech, and you might be next.<\/p>\n
Recently, a man in Tennessee was arrested over Facebook posts about Charlie Kirk. The Tennessean<\/a> has coverage:<\/p>\n
\n[Charlie Bushart] has been arrested and charged with threat of mass violence in connection to a series of social media posts he made about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination.<\/a>
\u2026
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems told The Tennessean in a statement that participants on the page were planning to host a Charlie Kirk vigil in Linden, Tennessee on Sept. 23.<\/p>\nBushart posted multiple photos in the comments referencing Charlie Kirk\u2019s death, which Weems called \u201chate memes,\u201d<\/a> but stated were \u201cnot against the law and would be recognized as free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The meme that seemed to get Bushart in trouble included a direct quote from Trump responding to a question about school shootings by saying, \u201cWe have to get over [them].\u201d That was enough to make people think that he was talking about a hypothetical school shooting and that he intended to \u201ccreate hysteria within the community.\u201d What a fucking reach! If only police departments were this vigilant whenever a victim of domestic abuse warns the department that they\u2019re being stalked or that someone is directing threats toward them.<\/p>\n
The arrest speaks to how easy it would be for the government to use social media as a surveillance tool to gauge if the thoughts we share fall out of line. And considering the recent antifa classification, saying something as simple as \u201cThe president and the media\u2019s insistence on blaming Charlie Kirk\u2019s murder on a left-wing \u2018they<\/a>\u2019 before there was any shred of motive was an obvious attempt to create division that, like de-legitimizing the free press as fake, were tactics shared by Nazi Germany<\/a>\u201d could get you put on a list for supporting terrorism. Thank God that was just a lengthy hypothetical, by the way.<\/p>\n
The go-to thought would be: Well, that\u2019s good advice for people who were dumb enough to say anything involving Charlie Kirk. I\u2019m smart enough to not get caught up in that. Good for you, but the antifa hunt will be going back further than whatever has been said in the last two weeks:<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re reading this and you\u2019re one of the people who donated to Mangione\u2019s GoFundMe to help ensure that he was able to afford a fair trial, you may want to make sure that your donation was anonymous. Given the leeway required to read Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s joke about Trump\u2019s architectural pivot as \u201cdeplorable\u201d and \u201cdisgraceful\u201d \u2014 even by a Republican who was supporting his right to say it on the air \u2014 it isn\u2019t too much of a push for the state to argue that anyone who tweeted a pro-Mangione message, let alone donated to his legal defense fund, materially benefited a \u201cterrorist.\u201d The scare quotes are there because a New York judge literally threw out the terrorism charges on the basis that the evidence wasn\u2019t strong enough, but I doubt that a little thing like \u201cfacts\u201d will prevent the title from flying around.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next on the domestic terrorism qualification list? Any post critical of ICE? It\u2019s a dangerous downward slope for free speech and multimillionaire late night show hosts aren\u2019t the only ones that should be worried about sliding down it.<\/p>\n
Tennessee Man Arrested In Connection To Charlie Kirk Social Media Posts<\/a> [The Tennessean]<\/p>\n
Earlier: Luigi Mangione Pulls $300K From Grassroots Funds To Bolster His Case<\/a><\/p>\n
Luigi Mangione\u2019s Terrorism Charges Recently Dismissed<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim,\u00a0is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected] <\/a>and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Jimmy Kimmel suspension and return has felt more rapturous than the alleged Rapture was. And as understandable as it is that it has grabbed many people\u2019s attention, it isn\u2019t the only huge attempt at chilling free speech that happened this week. On Monday, the White House announced an executive order that designates \u201cantifa\u201d (short […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":133790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chris-Williams-2025-sdWbeS.jpg?fit=512%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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