A Kansas man is suing Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) for defamation, arguing the congressman incorrectly identified him as one of the shooters involved in the Kansas City Super Bowl Parade shooting last month.
The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. Federal District Court for Kansas on Monday, argues plaintiff Denton Loudermill received death threats after Mr. Burchett shared a social media post indicating he was at least one of the people who opened fire during the Feb. 14 Super Bowl parade.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Loudermill was in attendance at the Kansas City parade on Feb. 14. The complaint states that as other people fled the area after shots rang out, Mr. Loudermill was frozen in place, trying to comprehend the events that were transpiring. After police responded to the shooting scene and began to cordon off the area with crime scene tape, the lawsuit alleges an officer told Mr. Loudermill he was leaving the area “too slow,” handcuffed him, and sat him on a curb.
Mr. Loudermill was photographed during the police stop, including by AFP photographer Andrew Caballero-Reynolds.
Though he was briefly stopped and handcuffed by police, the complaint states Mr. Loudermill was freed after about ten minutes and was not charged or cited for any offense.
“At no time did Plaintiff have any connection to or participation in any shooting,” the complaint states.
Despite his innocence in the shooting incident, the brief period Mr. Loudermill spent handcuffed fueled claims that he actually was involved in the exchange of gunfire.
A Feb. 15 post shared Mr. Burchett’s verified personal X social media account appeared to share one of Mr. Caballero-Reynolds’ photos following the shooting incident, depicting Mr. Loudermill sitting handcuffed on a curb. The caption on the social media post accompanying the photo of Mr. Loudermill read, “One of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal alien.”
The complaint states that by Feb. 18, the Tennessee congressman’s X post had been viewed 7.2 million times and reposted 21,600 times.
The complaint notes that in addition to having no connection to the shooting, Mr. Loudermill—an Olathe, Kansas resident—is neither an “alien” nor an “illegal alien,” as the Feb. 15 post on Mr. Burchett’s account appeared to suggest.
On Feb. 18, Mr. Burchett’s personal X account reshared the Feb. 15 post or a screenshot of that post, along with a new caption that stated, “It has come to my attention that in one of my previous posts. One of the shooters was identified as an illegal alien. This was based on multiple incorrect news reports stating that. I have since removed the post.”
The complaint notes that while Mr. Burchett corrected the apparent mischaracterization that Mr. Loudermill is an “illegal alien,” his Feb. 18 X post still appeared to erroneously identify him as “one of the shooters.”
Mr. Loudermill’s lawyers allege he received death threats and suffered mental distress, emotional suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, insult, and inconvenience as a result of the posts on Mr. Burchett’s social media account.
The plaintiff’s lawyers argue that the posts about their client appearing on Mr. Burchett’s social media account were not made in good faith and that the Republican congressman should be liable for a false light invasion of privacy. The plaintiff’s team is asking for actual, compensatory, and punitive damages after a jury trial.
NTD News reached out to Mr. Burchett’s office about the case on Tuesday, but his office declined to comment on the matter.
Who’s Been Charged After Super Bowl Parade Shooting
Investigators believe the Feb. 14 shooting came as the result of an argument between multiple people lined up along the parade route. According to documents unsealed in federal court earlier this month, 12 people brandished firearms, and at least six people fired weapons during the altercation.
One person was killed during the Feb. 14 shooting along the Kansas City Super Bowl parade route, while another 22 people sustained injuries from gunshots during the incident.
Adult suspects Lyndell Mays and Dominic Miller have been charged with second-degree murder, and two juvenile suspects have been charged with firearms charges and resisting arrest. Another adult suspect, 36-year-old Jose L. Castillo, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm for allegedly picking up and attempting to walk away with a gun dropped by another suspect involved in the altercation.
Federal prosecutors have charged another three Kansas City residents—Fedo Antonia Manning, 22; Ronnel Dewayne Williams Jr., 21; and Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19—with trafficking firearms linked to the Feb. 14 shooting.
Mr. Manning is charged with a single count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, a count of engaging in firearm sales without a license, and ten counts of making a false statement on a federal form. Mr. Williams and Mr. Groves were each charged with making false statements in the acquisition of firearms and a count each of lying to a federal agent.
