NASHVILLE, TN — Denton Eugene Loudermill Jr. has initiated a lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., for defamatory statements posted online, which falsely identified him as an “illegal alien” involved in the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting last month. The suit, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas on Monday, claims these assertions breached his privacy rights, incited death threats, and led to emotional distress.
The complaint, extending over eight pages, details how Burchett’s social media activities last month led to widespread dissemination of unfounded claims about Loudermill. Incorporated within the lawsuit are images from Burchett’s social media, spotlighting a February 15 post that depicted Loudermill encircled by police, erroneously tagging him as a parade shooter and an “illegal Alien”. This post was shared more than 21,000 times and viewed by over 7.2 million individuals.
Further aggravating the situation, Burchett attempted to correct his mistake on February 18 by retweeting his original post with an addendum acknowledging the error based on incorrect news reports. Nevertheless, this retraction still mistakenly implicated Loudermill as one of the shooters, amplifying the allegations against him.