Kansas City-area man’s suit claims defamation by US Rep. Burchett
Denton “Denny” Loudermill, the Kansas City-area man who was erroneously accused of being a shooter in the Chiefs rally mass shooting, has filed a defamation suit against U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee over his social media posts naming Loudermill.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas, alleges Burchett shared photos of Loudermill on his personal social media account, saying he was one of the shooters and referring to him as an “illegal alien.”
Loudermill, a native of Olathe, a Kansas City suburb, attended the Feb. 14 parade celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win. An argument broke out during the parade and ended in the shooting, which killed one person and wounded more than 20 people.
Loudermill’s suit states he attended the parade and was detained by police following the shooting for “moving too slow” as law enforcement was clearing the area. As he sat on a curb in handcuffs, people took photos of him and shared them on social media, according to the complaint.
Police did not charge Loudermill with any crime and released him.
Burchett, a Knoxville Republican, later deleted the post but included a screenshot of it that is still visible in a separate post.
Attorneys for Loudermill allege he has received death threats as a result of Burchett’s social media and are asking $75,000 in damages for acts considered “willful, wanton, reckless and malicious.”
A spokesperson for Burchett said the office was not able to comment, citing pending litigation.
In February, Loudermill told the Missouri Independent, “Sometimes I’m afraid to go outside of my house or think that somebody who’s going to come into my house because some people probably don’t even see that I
was innocent.”
Loudermill’s lawsuit did not include several members of the Missouri Senate Freedom Caucus, who also helped spread incorrect information about Loudermill and the mass shooting on social media.
Asked about the possibility of future defamation litigation against other public officials, LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, an attorney working as Loudermill’s legal advocate, said in an email to The Independent: “We are just getting started.”