East Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett defamed a Kansas man last month, falsely portraying him on social media as an "illegal alien" and a shooter following a mass shooting at a Super Bowl celebration in downtown Kansas City, a newly filed lawsuit alleges.
Lawyers for Denton E. Loudermill Jr., of suburban Kansas City, filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas against Burchett, of Knoxville.
"At no time was (Loudermill) an 'alien,' an 'illegal alien,' nor a 'shooter' and the assertions to the contrary were false and were circulated widely among (Burchett's) followers and (Burchett's) false assertions about (Loudermill) were reposted and widely circulated to more than one million people around the world who had interactions or engagements with (Burchett's) false assertions about (Loudermill)," the complaint states.
WBIR sought comment from Burchett's office Monday. His communications director said because the tweet was made on his "unofficial account, all media inquiries on this subject are being handled by his campaign staff. I’ve forwarded it along to them for you."
On Valentine's Day, hundreds of thousands of Chiefs fans gathered in downtown Kansas City to celebrate the football team repeating as Super Bowl champs. Like 2023, many of the celebrations focused on Union Station, where team members addressed an adoring crowd.
As the event broke up, shots rang out. A woman was shot and killed; other people suffered injuries. Authorities would later charge several males in the shooting.
Loudermill, who said he was born in the United States, was in the crowd of Chiefs fans. He didn't know the shooters and he wasn't armed, his attorneys said.
Loudermill froze on the scene, he said, trying to understand what was happening.
Kansas City police cleared people from the scene. They taped off sections of the scene to help control crowds and the investigation.
As Loudermill tried to go under the tape to leave the area, police stopped him and told him he was moving too slow, his lawsuit states. One of them handcuffed him and made him sit on the curb.
As he sat on the curb in this very public scene, people began taking his photo and posting it across social media.
After a brief time of being cuffed, police "walked him a couple of blocks away from the area, where he was unhandcuffed and told by the officers that he was free to go," his lawsuit states.
He was not charged.
"At no time did law enforcement detain, cite, or arrest (Loudermill) for any involvement with the shooting at the Super Bowl celebration. At no time did (Loudermill) engage in any gun violence at the Super Bowl celebration," his lawsuit states.
As the hours passed, Loudermill became aware that his image was being distributed and falsely being represented on social media.
Among those who defamed him, he alleges, was Burchett, the Republican 2nd Congressional District representative and former Knox County mayor who represents much of East Tennessee, including Knoxville.
Burchett is a frequent user of X, formerly known as Twitter, posting updates from Washington and making sometimes disparaging remarks about opposing political figures and often clashing with critics who challenge him directly. He's also a frequent guest on mainstream TV as well as point-of-view TV networks.
On Feb. 15, Burchett wrote a message on X along with the photo of Loudermill sitting on the curb: "One of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal Alien."
Loudermill's lawyers say that was patently false and inflammatory. It was seen by "more than a million" viewers.
Three days later, the congressman posted another tweet on top of the original tweet: "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 removed that post."
Burchett didn't say specifically what "news reports" -- implying journalists made such reports -- relayed that incorrect information about Loudermill.
The Kansas man has, as a result of Burchett's actions, suffered mental anguish, sleeplessness and anxiety, the lawsuit states. He's been humiliated and has endured insults, the lawsuit states.
Loudermill seeks "an award of punitive or exemplary damages in an amount sufficient to punish (Burchett) or deter (Burchett) and others from like conduct in the future."