Soldier left threats against Tennessee judge after family court ruling

An active duty soldier faces federal charges for threatening Tennessee judges online a family court judge handed custody of his child to his ex-wife with limited visitation and $528 per month in child support, according to an FBI criminal complaint.

Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Olita ruled Cassidy Busbin, who is stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, lied about his drinking habits and domestic abuse. She also heard testimony that he killed a family dog and burned its body in front of his ex-girlfriend and her daughter.

Following the ruling, Busbin began threatening her and other Tennessee officials online.

In one social media post, Busbin referenced a news story about a man who shot and killed another family court judge, writing: “this is what’s going to happen in clarksville if they keep fucking down soldiers.” 

Busbin, is accused of making online threats in numerous Facebook posts, targeting individual judges and alluding to harming public officials in Montgomery County, Tennessee, according to an FBI criminal complaint provided by CourtWatch.

The case was since sealed, according to the Middle District of Tennessee clerk’s office, after media attention.

Busbin’s Facebook page reposted writings from the Father’s Rights Movement which referred to family court as “a place where showing love is classed as being emotionally unstable. Contacting your children is classed as harassment. False allegations are encouraged and accepted. Perjury is accepted. The truth is ignored and you pay to see someone that’s already yours.”

In another post that appeared to be aimed at his experience in court, Busbin wrote “I will not surrender to your incompetence and ignorance of the constitution I swore to uphold and defend against all enemies foreign and domestic!”

In late October, a mental health professional who interviewed Busbin advised him of concerns over his threats to kill judges. “I can see how they may think that,” Busbin responded. 

The professional declared Busbin “was an imminent risk of harm/death to others” and advised that he be admitted into an inpatient psychiatric treatment facility.

Busbin was held involuntarily at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell and released on Nov. 1. The Army then ordered Busbin be restricted to the base for a week pending a renewed or revoked restriction, which would allow him to return to his home.

Requests for comment sent to Fort Campbell were not immediately returned.

During Busbin’s divorce hearing, his ex-girlfriend testified to his drinking habits as an all-day affair, starting with a coffee and bourbon in the morning and continuing after work with a beer and bourbon.

Busbin’s ex-wife, referred to as C.J., told investigators that she ignored warnings from his previous ex-girlfriends and was scared into staying with him. In addition to threatening to kill her, Busbin threw things at her, hit her, and strangled her, she said.

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After an incident where Busbin choked her and gave her a black eye, C.J. reported it to his Army chain of command. They put Busbin in the barracks for 72 hours and then sent him to a one-month training at Fort Drum in New York.

“C.J. has cameras up at her house and shared that she has told her family that if she were to be found dead, Busbin did it,” the complaint states.

Beyond his interpersonal escalations, Busbin’s threats to local Tennessee officials mostly appeared online.

After the Judge Olita’s ruling was finalized in August 2021, Busbin turned to harassment via her professional Facebook page  – which she has since deleted – commenting that she is a “waste of oxygen.”

Olita told investigators that she fears for her safety and has begun seeing a therapist, installed home security cameras and taken self defense classes. She also described “seeing something out of the corner of her eye thinking it may be Busbin.” The judge also told investigators that she was worried Busbin, his wife and twin brother were planning an armed protest at the court in November.

Another local judge, Reid Poland, ruled over a case involving Busbin’s brother and sentenced him to six days in jail. Due to online harassment from the brothers, Poland told officials he started carrying a firearm and now pays close attention to where he parks his car.

“In more than a year as a judge, Poland has never experienced anything like this because of something that transpired in his courtroom,” according to the complaint.

Busbin was previously arrested on Oct. 27 for filing a false police report a week earlier about that he had been sexually assaulted by a Montgomery County sheriff while he was at the county courthouse.

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