Current:Home > StocksJudge tosses lawsuit against congressman over posts about man not involved in Chiefs’ rally shooting-InfoLens
Judge tosses lawsuit against congressman over posts about man not involved in Chiefs’ rally shooting
View Date:2024-12-23 15:15:10
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge this week tossed a lawsuit against a Tennessee congressman who falsely accused a Kansas man of being involved in a deadly shooting at a rally celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory this year.
U.S. District Judge John Broomes ruled that the case should not be handled in Kansas, where plaintiff Denton Loudermill Jr. lives. U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican, has little connection to Kansas.
Loudermill’s lawyer said in an email Thursday that they plan to refile the lawsuit in Washington, D.C., where Burchett was when he posted about Loudermill on social media.
Associated Press voice messages and emails to Burchett’s attorneys were not immediately answered Thursday.
Loudermill was briefly handcuffed in the chaos that followed the Feb. 14 shooting outside the historic Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. A well-known DJ was killed and more than 20 others were injured, many of them children.
Loudermill’s lawsuit said that he froze when the gunfire erupted, standing in the middle of the chaos so long that police had put up crime scene tape by the time he finally started to walked away. As he tried to go under the tape to leave, officers stopped him and told him he was moving “too slow.” They handcuffed him and put him on a curb, where people began taking pictures and posting them on social media, the suit said.
Loudermill ultimately was led away from the area and told he was free to go.
The next day, a picture of Loudermill was posted on Burchett’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter. Above the picture were the words: “One of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal Alien.”
Loudermill was born and raised in the U.S.
A follow-up post by Burchett on Feb. 18 blamed incorrect news reports for the “illegal alien” identification. But the post, which was included in the lawsuit, still described the cuffed man seated on the curb as “one of the shooters.”
The suit said that Loudermill was never detained, cited or arrested in connection with the shooting. It stressed that he had no involvement and didn’t know any of the teens or young adults who had argued before gunfire erupted.
The suit described Loudermill as a car wash employee — not a public figure — and a “contributing member of his African-American family, a family with deep and long roots in his Kansas community.”
It said he received death threats and experienced periods of “anxiety, agitation, and sleep disruption.”
veryGood! (1634)
Related
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 12 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- Watch Brie Larson's squad embrace the strange in exclusive 'The Marvels' deleted scene
- Flooded Vermont capital city demands that post office be restored
- Golden Globe-nominated Taylor Swift appears to skip Chiefs game with Travis Kelce ruled out
- Human head washes ashore on Florida beach, police investigating: reports
- ULA Vulcan rocket launches on history-making maiden flight from Florida: Watch liftoff
- Get $174 Worth of Beauty Products for $25— Peter Thomas Roth, Sunday Riley, Clinique, and More
- Ron Rivera fired as Washington Commanders coach after four seasons
- Taking stock of bonds: Does the 60/40 rule still have a role in retirement savings?
- Bill Hader asks Taylor Swift for a selfie at the Golden Globes: Watch the sweet moment
Ranking
- Eminem, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, N.W.A. and Janet Jackson get Songwriters Hall of Fame nods
- Ford, Hyundai, BMW among 140,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- Carrefour pulls Doritos and other PepsiCo products from shelves over price hikes
- Apple to begin taking pre-orders for Vision Pro virtual reality headsets
- Man charged with murder in fatal shooting of 2 workers at Chicago’s Navy Pier
- Red Cross declares nationwide emergency due to critically low blood supply
- Expert predictions as Michigan and Washington meet in CFP national championship game
- Idris Elba joins protesters calling for stricter UK knife laws: 'Too many grieving families'
Recommendation
-
Song Jae-lim, Moon Embracing the Sun Actor, Dead at 39
-
Clock ticking for Haslam family to sell stake in Pilot truck stops to Berkshire Hathaway this year
-
Killers of the Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone speaks in Blackfeet during Golden Globe speech
-
Argentines ask folk cowboy saint Gauchito Gil to help cope with galloping inflation
-
Driver dies after crashing on hurricane-damaged highway in North Carolina
-
The 16 Best Humidifiers on Amazon That Are Affordable and Stylish
-
Missouri secretary of state is safe after shooting falsely reported at his home
-
In 2011, a headless woman was found in a posed position in a California vineyard. She's finally been identified.