Kansas City man who was arrested at Super Bowl parade after shooting files $75k lawsuit against GOP congressman who called him the 'shooter' and an 'illegal alien'
- Denton Loudermill was released from custody and never charged with a crime
- The lawsuit against Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett accuses the Republican of making 'defamatory representations' of the Kansas man
- Burchett falsely claimed that Loudermill was an 'illegal alien' and one of the shooters
The Kansas man who was falsely deemed an 'illegal alien' and one of the gunmen at the Chiefs Super Bowl rally is suing a Tennessee state representative for defaming him.
Denton Loudermill seeks damages in excess of $75,000 for a 'false representation' of him that appeared on Rep. Tim Burchett's (R-TN) social media account.
The Olathe man was detained at the parade and photos of him spread across X, formerly Twitter, accompanied by the false claim that he was an undocumented immigrant and one of the suspects in the shooting that claimed the life of radio presenter Lisa Lopez-Galvan.
Burchett amplified these claims with a February 15 post on his personal X account, captioning the image: 'One of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal Alien.'
According to court documents reviewed by DailyMail.com, the Republican lawmaker's post amassed 21,000 retweets and more than 7.2 million views by the morning of February 18.
Denton Loudermill was detained during the February 14 Kansas City Chiefs victory parade and later let go
Photos of him spread on X, formerly Twitter, along with the false claim that he was an undocumented immigrant and one of the shooters
Loudermill is suing Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) for making 'defamatory representations' of him, in a post that racked up more than a million views
'Burchett then removed the post, indicating in a new one that he had misidentified Loudermill as an undocumented immigrant, while still suggesting that Loudermill was “one of the shooters,"' the suit reads.
The lawsuit claims the false characterization caused Loudermill to 'receive death threats and to suffer mental distress,' adding that he is expected to continue to experience 'periods of anxiety, agitation, and sleep disruption.'
The suit also details the circumstances around Loudermill's detainment.
'As Plaintiff started moving from the area, the Police had started taping it off. As Plaintiff tried to go under the tape to leave the area, Officers stopped him and told him he was moving “too slow,"' it reads.
He was put in handcuffs and seated on a curb, at which point 'people began taking pictures of him.' After roughly 10 minutes, he was walked a few blocks away, uncuffed and told that he was free to go.
Loudermill was not charged, nor cited, with a crime or offense, the suit asserts.
It notes that Burchett was not among the 500,000 people in attendance at the parade on February 14.
The lawsuit claims the false characterization caused Loudermill to 'receive death threats and to suffer mental distress.' It adds that he was put in handcuffs after police told him he was moving 'too slow' when leaving the scene, but was later released
The suit notes that Burchett wasn't in attendance on the day of the parade shooting
The Olathe man was released from custody and was not charged, nor cited, with a crime or offense, the lawsuit states
It mentions that Burchett made the offensive posts on his personal X account
'Plaintiff is not and never has been an illegal alien, having been born and raised in the United States of America,' the suit reads.
'On February 14, 2024, Plaintiff was not the “shooter” and was not in any way involved in the shooting.
'At no time did Law Enforcement detain, cite, or arrest Plaintiff for any involvement with the shooting at the Super Bowl celebration. At no time did Plaintiff engage in any gun violence at the Super Bowl celebration.'
It notes that Burchett was not among the 500,000 people in attendance that day.
The suit further asserts that the congressman 'knew or should have known that his inflammatory post on social media would be seen and read nationwide,' including in Kansas, where Loudermill lived.
It deems the politician's actions 'willful, wanton, reckless, and malicious,' showing 'a complete and deliberate indifference to, and conscious disregard for, the rights of Plaintiff.'
The Olathe man seeks a jury trial and at least $75,000 in damages for 'false light invasion of privacy.'
Under Kansas state law, this is considered one of four types of invasion of privacy, occurring when a highly offensive false publication is made to a third party.
Loudermill said he simply wanted Burchett 'to apologize and spread the word that I am not the guy that he says I was'
He told members of the media that his children had become the target of questions. 'I just don't want this to be this known,' he said
Speaking to members of the media outside the Olathe Public Library on Wednesday, Loudermill expressed that he simply wanted Burchett 'to apologize and spread the word that I am not the guy that he says I was.'
'I just want him to be held accountable for what he did and said to me,' Loudermill said.
He explained that his children had become the target of questions and 'and stuff like that. I just don't want this to be this known.'
Loudermill was accompanied by his attorney, LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, who said it was 'time for action.'
'If the congressman and others had owned the misinformation it wouldn’t have felt so intentional or a disregard for the damage that was done to Mr. Loudermill,' she said.
'At this point, I think we’ve done enough talking and it’s time for action. We are going to let the legal process work.'
