Dalton Eatherly, better known online as Chud the Builder, is still being held at Montgomery County Jail in Clarksville, Tennessee, while facing an attempted murder charge linked to the shooting of Joshua Fox outside the Montgomery County Courthouse. The livestreamer is now drawing attention for a different reason after claiming jail officials took away his Bible and have refused to return it. The allegation surfaced through social media posts shared on June 7, 2026, and was later reposted on Chud the Builder’s official X account.
According to a statement attributed to Dalton Eatherly and shared by field reporter Tayler Hansen on X, the Bible was taken after he was released from solitary confinement. Eatherly claimed jail staff replaced the physical Bible with a tablet that frequently crashes and loses power, making it difficult for him to read scripture. He also alleged that requests to get the Bible back were denied. As of now, jail officials have not publicly responded to those claims.
Dalton Eatherly says Montgomery County Jail staff denied requests to return Bible
In the statement shared online, Dalton Eatherly said he had been studying scripture daily during his time in custody and did not understand why the Bible was removed.
“I’ve asked very kindly and politely, even offering to pay whatever amount they want for a copy of the physical Bible that I for some reason had access to for weeks, but am being denied. The admin Capt Oakes is sending me ALL CAPS replies with clear frustration and vindictiveness indicating an obvious malicious interference with my religious studies,” the statement read.
He also claimed another inmate housed nearby had access to a physical religious text and argued that denying him a Bible violated his religious freedom.
The post was later reshared on Chud the Builder’s X account. His fiancée wrote that Eatherly had given her access to the account and wanted the message shared because he wanted his Bible returned.
The controversy comes as Eatherly remains jailed over the May 13 shooting of Joshua Fox, a Black disabled veteran. According to CNN, Eatherly allegedly shot Fox multiple times outside the Montgomery County Courthouse following an altercation.
After the incident, Eatherly livestreamed and described his version of events. During court proceedings, his bond was initially set at $1.25 million before being reduced to $1 million. On June 3, a judge declined to lower it further.
During that hearing, YouTuber Alex Rosen offered $100,000 toward the bond amount. However, Judge William Goodman III rejected the proposal, saying, “I’m not going to let him get into the bonding business.” As of publication, Dalton Eatherly remains incarcerated at Montgomery County Jail while awaiting further legal proceedings.