U.S. Rep. Tim BurchettÂ
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District is being sued after falsely claiming that a Kansas man was involved in a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade.
The shooting occurred on Feb. 14 in Kansas City, Mo. One woman was killed and 22 people, including 11 children, were wounded. Three adults and three minors have been charged in connection with the shooting. None of those charged is the man who Burchett claimed was an “illegal alien” and a “shooter” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The man pictured in Burchett's post was identified in a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas as Denton Eugene Loudermill Jr. of Olathe, Kan. Loudermill spoke with Kansas City’s ABC News affiliate KCTV, which reported that he received death threats following Burchett's initial post. The post was viewed more than 7.2 million times and shared more than 21,000 times.
Burchett later deleted the post and followed up with a statement saying he was incorrect in claiming that Loudermill was an “illegal alien." The post still used a photo of Loudermill in reference to “one of the shooters.” Burchett blamed “incorrect news reports” for his false statement.
“I just want everybody to know that I’m an innocent person, and whatever happened, I had no clue what was going on,” Loudermill told KCTV.
Loudermill was one of “many people detained” by Kansas City Police, but he was never charged with or suspected of a crime related to the shooting.
The suit reads, in part: “Plaintiff was not and is not a public figure and at the time of the events referred to in this Complaint he was a quiet person who strived to do well in his employment at a car wash and to be a positive and contributing member of his African-American family, a family with deep and long roots in his Kansas community.”Â
The complaint details that Loudermill experienced “mental distress, sleeplessness, anxiety, and agitation” as well as “emotional suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, insult, and inconvenience,” causing Loudermill to “sustain damages in Kansas in excess of $75,000.”
Prior to the lawsuit, Burchett was asked about the post by the Tennessee Holler. The congressman responded with a “your mother” joke.
The Scene reached out to Rep. Burchett’s office for comment, and has not received a response as of this publication.
Read the federal complaint in full below.
