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’
The Kansas man who was wrongly deemed an “illegal alien” and one of the shooters at the Chiefs Super Bowl rally is suing a Tennessee state representative for defamation against him.
Denton Loudermill is seeking more than $75,000 in damages for a “false representation” of him that appeared on Rep. Tim Burchett’s (R-TN) social media account.
The Olathe man was detained during 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 host Lisa Lopez- Galvan.
Burchett amplified these claims with a Feb. 15 post on his personal
According to court documents reviewed by DailyMail.com, the Republican lawmaker’s post had amassed 21,000 retweets and more than 7.2 million views by the morning of Feb. 18.
Denton Loudermill was arrested during the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade on February 14 and later released
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 statements” about him, in a post that has been viewed more than a million times
“Burchett subsequently deleted the post and indicated in a new one that he had falsely identified Loudermill as an undocumented immigrant, while still suggesting that Loudermill was ‘one of the shooters,’” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit claims the false characterization caused Loudermill to “receive death threats and suffer mental distress,” adding that he is expected to continue to experience “periods of anxiety, agitation and sleep disturbance.”
The lawsuit also details the circumstances surrounding Loudermill’s detention.
“When the claimant drove away from the area, the police had started cordoning it off. When the complainant tried to go under the tape to leave the area, officers stopped him and told him he was moving “too slow.”
He was handcuffed and placed on a curb, after which “people started taking pictures of him.” After about ten minutes, he was walked a few blocks away, uncuffed, and told he was free to go.
Loudermill was not charged or cited with a crime or misdemeanor, the complaint said.
It is noted that Burchett was not among the 500,000 people who attended the February 14 parade.
The lawsuit claims the false characterization caused Loudermill to “receive death threats and suffer mental anguish.” It adds he was handcuffed after police told him he was moving “too slowly” as he left the scene, but was later released.
The lawsuit notes that Burchett was not present the day of the shooting
The Olathe man was released and was not charged or cited with any crime or misdemeanor, the lawsuit said
It is stated that Burchett posted the offensive messages on his personal X account
“Plaintiff is not and has never been an illegal alien as he was born and raised in the United States of America,” the complaint reads.
‘Plaintiff was not the “shooter” on February 14, 2024 and was not involved in the shooting in any way.
“At no time did law enforcement detain, summon, or arrest Plaintiff for any involvement in the shooting during the Super Bowl celebration. At no time did plaintiff engage in gun violence during the Super Bowl celebration.”
It is noted that Burchett was not among the 500,000 in attendance that day.
The lawsuit further alleges that the congressman “knew or should have known that his inflammatory social media post would be seen and read nationwide,” including in Kansas, where Loudermill lived.
It considers the politician’s actions to be “intentional, wanton, reckless and malicious,” showing “a complete and deliberate indifference to and conscious disregard for the plaintiff’s rights.”
The Olathe man is seeking a jury trial and at least $75,000 in damages for “false minor invasion of privacy.”
Under Kansas state law, this is considered one of four types of privacy violations, which occur when a highly offensive false disclosure is made to a third party.
Loudermill said he simply wanted Burchett to “apologize and spread the word that I am not the man he says I was.”
He told the media that his children had become the target of questions. “I just don’t want this to be known like that,” he said
Speaking to members of the media outside the Olathe Public Library on Wednesday, Loudermill said he simply wanted Burchett to “apologize and spread the word that I am not the man 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 things like that. I just don’t want this to become known.’
Loudermill was accompanied by his attorney, LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, who said it was “time for action.”
“If the congressman and others had had their hands on the disinformation, it would not have been so intentional, or a disregard for the harm done to Mr. Loudermill,” she said.
“At this point, I think we’ve talked enough and it’s time for action. We are going to make the legal process work.”