In the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a vile influx of celebrations and crude jokes spread across social media rejoicing in the conservative activist's murder. 

Upwards of 600 people lost their jobs or were punished in the aftermath of Kirk's murder, facing retribution for mocking his on-camera assassination and his grieving family. 

But the most severe punishment was handed down to retired Tennessee police officer Larry Bushart, 61, who spent over a month behind bars for sharing a Facebook meme about the shooting. 

Bushart was locked up for sharing a quote from Donald Trump that the president made in the aftermath of a school shooting in Perry, Iowa, in January 2024, telling supporters they 'have to get over it.'

Bushart added the caption, 'Seems relevant today' soon after Kirk's assassination - a jibe that led to felony charges of 'threatening mass violence' and a total of 37 days in county jail on a $2 million bond. 

Prosecutors claimed that Bushart's joke was a thinly veiled threat to Perry County, which was near to Bushart's home, and the retired cop missed the birth of his granddaughter while he was locked up. 

The charges were dropped, and in May, Tennessee officials agreed to settle a lawsuit for $835,000, one of the highest reported payouts to anyone who was punished for their response to Kirk's assassination. 

Greg Greubel, an attorney working with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which represented Bushart, told the Daily Mail this week that the backlash from reactions to the Kirk assassination were 'unprecedented.'  

'This is really the most dramatic and unprecedented wave of terminations that we've ever seen, based on kind of a single event,' Greubel said. 'It's really astounding.' 

Despite his ordeal, Bushart has far from stayed quiet, and his social media pages show he has continued to share a torrent of abuse and 'jokes' at conservative figures.

Last month, this included sharing another jab at Trump, branding him a 'convicted sexual predator.' Trump was found liable in civil court for sexual assault in May 2023, but has never been convicted in criminal court.

The wave of firings and punishments in the aftermath of Kirk's shooting sparked debates over protected speech and First Amendment rights, with studies showing upwards of 600 people faced punishments across America.

By May 2026, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said that it was tracking at least 13 lawsuits in federal court brought by those who had been terminated or disciplined for their reactions to Kirk's assassination.  

The highest reported payout for an individual who was punished for their response was a staggering $1.9 million, approved to UT Knoxville professor Dr. Tamar Shirinian in June. 

Shirinian was placed on leave over comments she made on her personal Facebook account, including branding Kirk a 'disgusting psychopath'.

In other posts, she referenced Kirk's wife and children, and said the 'world is better off without him in it.'

After Shirinian was fired for the remarks, she sued UT Knoxville, and her huge payout was approved by the UT Board of Trustees on June 29.

In another case that captured headlines, Maria Ruhtenberg, an attorney with the Iowa Office of Public Defenders, was fired for posting 'Live by the sword, die by the sword' in reaction to Kirk's assassination. 

She also posted, 'You reap what you sow' - while also explicitly stating that she hoped Kirk's killer would go to prison. A 15-year veteran as a public defender, Ruhtenberg was fired within five days of Kirk's death. 

In May, a federal lawsuit Ruhtenberg brought resulted in a $125,000 settlement.  

Like Bushart, Greubel has represented a number of people whose lives were upended by their callous responses to Kirk's assassination, as he said he had never seen such an influx of retribution over a single event. 

'When you're talking about the First Amendment rights of public employees, they have the right to express their own opinions on their own time, even if it's about something controversial,' he said. 

'And the only times that the government can actually punish them for expressing their opinion on a matter of public concern as a private citizen is if there's some kind of disruption to the work environment because of what they said.'

Another of his clients, Monica Meeks, was fired from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and insurance two days after Kirk was killed. 

Meeks lost her job despite not posting directly about Kirk's assassination, but she was reported because she branded the activist a 'white supremacist' in a comment responding to a Facebook post made by a friend. 

Meeks was reported anonymously to her employer, and the department said she had 'revealed bias and disregard toward the very people she was tasked with serving.' 

Greubel filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Meeks in December, and he told the Daily Mail this week the case remains in limbo as it moves through the courts. 

He said he took Meeks' case as he saw her punishment as overboard compared to her comment, and said: 'Monica is a she's a proud veteran. She is someone who takes her public service very seriously.' 

While Meeks has not set specific monetary damages in her lawsuit, Greubel said she may hope for a large payout, as 'her job was a very good job, and you know, when you lose a job like that, it's really hundreds of 1000s of dollars that you're losing in terms of expected income.'

'So, like a lot of these folks, I think she would be entitled to a very significant settlement if we did get to that point,' Greubel added.

The Daily Mail has contacted attorneys for Albrecht and Shirinian for comment.