Man falsely accused in KC Chiefs rally shooting files new lawsuits against Missouri state senators

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Johnson County, Kansas, man filed new lawsuits against three Missouri state senators, alleging they shared posts falsely identifying him as being an illegal alien and a shooter in the February Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting.

Denton Loudermill, an Olathe, Kansas, native, filed new lawsuits Thursday in the U.S. District Court for Western Missouri against against Sen. Rick Brattin, Sen. Denny Hoskins and Sen. Nick Schroer.

The suits are similar to the ones filed in federal court in Kansas that were dismissed last week after a judge found that the Kansas federal court lacked personal jurisdiction over the three senators, who were all from Missouri. The new suits, however, contain an added claim of libel per se.

An email seeking comment from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office, who defended the three senators in the Kansas case, was not answered Thursday.

The senators did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We are still very much pursuing this,” said Loudermill’s attorney, LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, during a news conference at the Olathe Public Library Thursday afternoon.

“As a private citizen, he should have a right to remain private, keep his life private and not have public figures, elected officials, be reckless and make statements and think that there’s no accountability for it,” Lassiter Saunders said.

Loudermill said on Thursday that people are still asking questions about the case. He said it’s hard because they put his life in danger. None of the senators have apologized for misidentifying him.

“I just want them to pay for that,” Loudermill said.

The incident has Loudermill thinking a lot about not wanting to go out in public. If the Chiefs were to win another Super Bowl, Loudermill spoke as if he might not want to be at another celebration, but then clarified that he would be there.

“I’m going to be at the party,” Loudermill said. “I’m thinking about not because I don’t want to be in that same situation again.”

It’s hard, he said, because people he doesn’t know now know who he is because of the posts. Even at his job in Johnson County, people still pull out their phone and look at a video of him. He said that he doesn’t know what they are thinking.

The legal action came after an onslaught of false social media posts were shared with photos of Loudermill after the shooting.

The suits allege that the senators each shared the posts falsely claiming that Loudermill was an “illegal alien” and a shooter in the February shooting that killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old Johnson County mother of two, and wounded 22 others outside of Union Station.

The lawsuits alleged that the Missouri lawmakers’ posts caused Loudermill to receive death threats, incur damages including humiliation, mental distress, anxiety, and loss of sleep.

A similar lawsuit filed by Loudermill against U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, was dismissed last month. Lassiter Saunders said they are looking to refile that case in the federal court in Washington D.C.

(The Star’s Kacen Bayless contributed to this reporting.)