Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett spread false rumors that a Black man named Denton Loudermill was arrested for the Kansas City shooting.
The post Black Man Falsely ID’ed As ‘Illegal Immigrant’ At Kansas City Chiefs Parade Shooting Has Life Ruined By GOP Lies appeared first on NewsOne.
Denton Loudermill was detained by law enforcement following a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. | Source: David Eulitt / Getty
Here’s the thing about conservatives: For all of their blustering about how untrustworthy the “fake news” media is, they sure do seem to take every media headline they come across at face value so long as what’s being reported is exactly what they want to believe.
Meet Denton Loudermill.
MORE: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas Takes Aim At Guns After Deadly Mass Shooting At Chiefs Parade
You might already know Loudermill as the illegal immigrant who was recently arrested in connection with the deadly Feb. 14 shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs parade celebrating the team’s Super Bowl win. Tennesse Congressman Tim Burchett (R) alerted the masses to Loudermill’s ghastly crime and arrest tweeting, “One of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal Alien.” Burchett’s post, which reportedly reached more than 25 million people, was left up for days while his followers blasted Loudermill as an evil, violent foreign terrorist who proves the clear and present threat migrants pose to the U.S.
Of course, there’s only one problem with the entire narrative: Denton Loudermill is not an illegal immigrant, and his brief detainment during the parade had nothing to do with the shooting.
From the Kansas City Defender:
Initially, images of Loudermill in cuffs led to rampant online speculation about his involvement in the parade violence. One viral Twitter post claimed “at least one of the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooters identified as Sahil Omar, a 44 year old illegal immigrant. Biden has failed to protect America from invasion and terrorism,” said a February 15, 2024 post on Twitter blaming US President Joe Biden over the US-Mexico border as the cause for the parade shooting.
Loudermill has clarified that his temporary arrest was due to intoxication, not any violent actions.
Loudermill’s legal representation has also stated that he was detained for his intoxication and failure to clear the scene promptly. Despite the misinterpretation of his situation, he was released without charges or citation.
So, far, two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the shooting. The suspects haven’t been identified by name, race, nationality or immigration status. In fact, no information about them has been released to the public at all thus far. So, just to recap, Burchett blindly spread a rumor that an illegal immigrant named Sahil Omar was arrested for shooting up the parade, and he shared a photo of a man who is not Omar and was not arrested for the shooting, which would’ve been inaccurate even if Loudermill was Omar, because Omar, whoever he is, was also not arrested in connection with the shooting.
Denton Loudermilk Jr. Born in the USA, graduated HS in Olathe, KS. Not the shooter. Has a lawyer and now trying to clear his name. https://t.co/cGkvk4RPpH
— Just C (@CodaJustinian) February 18, 2024
Eventually, Burchett had to admit that he didn’t know what he was talking about and was duped by “multiple” false reports.
“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 the post,” he wrote in a tweet accompanied by a screenshot of his original loud and wrong post.
You still got it wrong. His name is Denton Loudermill. He was NOT involved in the shooting. He was briefly detained for public intoxication & released. Are you incapable of doing any research? It's not like you are wkg this week.https://t.co/DKUkA0Yh4n https://t.co/DjSNhx84AQ
— Kansas Girl (@LesandLexsMom) February 19, 2024
Burchett isn’t the only GOP official who got a huge MAGA boner when he thought an illegal immigrant shot up the parade. In fact, several Republican “leaders” ran with the unvetted story and had to delete their social media posts once it turned out to be a complete work of fiction.
From First Alert 4:
One such post was made by state Sen Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, who is running for Secretary of State.
“I’d hope this first-hand experience with violent illegal immigrants & repeat violent offenders–children shot at a parade–will help them see the urgent need to close our borders, stop promoting Sanctuary Cities to violent illegal immigrants & end liberal catch & release policies for violent criminals,” Hoskins posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to a post by Democratic state Sen. Lauren Arthur.
Arthur’s post had highlighted Missouri’s lenient gun laws which prohibit local municipalities like Kansas City and St. Louis from imposing their own restrictions.
Hoskins later deleted the post and did not respond to questions from the bureau about it.
Scott Charton, a political operative, posted a collection of screenshots in which the X accounts of state Sens. Hoskins, Nick Schroer and Rick Brattin – as well as the X account for their group, the Missouri Freedom Caucus – made similar false claims that the KC shooting was tied to illegal immigration.
The photos in posts that were shared by Missouri Freedom Caucus members showed the arrest of Denton Loudermill, a native of Olathe, Kansas, who had been detained by police for public intoxication and for failing to leave the crime scene.
“At least one of those arrested is an illegal immigrant,” the account for the Missouri Freedom Caucus posted. “Close our borders!”
The caucus’ account later deleted that post.
Apex of bad faith and subsequent flailing to distract from their specific roles in spreading this disgusting lie. #moleg #mogov https://t.co/2TFsJZ1ezo pic.twitter.com/ZSwUo3RJun
— Scott Charton (@ScottCharton) February 18, 2024
While misinformation-spreading GOP officials are still cleaning all the egg off of their faces after foolishly propagating a lie, Loudermill, a Black father of three who was born and raised in Kansas, has been enduring harassment and death threats while he defends his tarnished image and reputation.
“I just want to clear my name that I had nothing to do with anything,” he told the Defender.
And because oftentimes, the false report spreads farther and wider than the retraction, Loudermill’s attorney, LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, has appealed to the public to help correct the narrative and be as loud about the truth as Republicans were spreading the lie.
“Help us clear his name,” she said, “Help us save his life.”
SEE ALSO:
Harry Belafonte’s Family To Hold Public Celebration For Legendary Actor, Activist And Singer
The post Black Man Falsely ID’ed As ‘Illegal Immigrant’ At Kansas City Chiefs Parade Shooting Has Life Ruined By GOP Lies appeared first on NewsOne.
