U.S Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) is being criticized for wrongly identifying the suspect in last week’s Super Bowl Parade shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, and also claiming he is an “illegal Alien.” That mass shooting left one person dead and 22 others, including 11 children, injured.
Congressman Burchett made national headlines last year after the Covenant Elementary School mass shooting in Nashville, when he told reporters while standing in front of Congress, “we’re not going to fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals.” Three nine-year old students and three staff members were killed by a shooter with two AR-15 style assault rifles and a handgun. He instead called for a Christian “revival.”
On Thursday, Rep. Burchett posted to X the photo of a man, seated, with his arms behind his back and flanked by law enforcement officers.
“One of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal Alien,” Burchett falsely claimed on his social media post (screenshot below). The post has received 1.4 million views.
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That man is not the shooter, not a suspect, nor an undocumented immigrant, according to reports.
On Thursday CNN reported three people, including two juveniles, had been taken into custody. The adult was not arrested and was released.
“Two juveniles were charged with crimes connected to the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally, authorities said Friday, as the city tries to recover in the aftermath of the violence,” the Associated Press later reported. “A mother and popular disc jockey died in the burst of gunfire Wednesday as the parade and rally were concluding.”
The man Rep. Burchett, and others, falsely claimed on social media was one of the shooters has been identified.
“The man in the photos is Denton Loudermill. He’s an Olathe native, a father of three daughters, and a proud Chiefs fan. He’s not a mass shooter,” ABC affiliate KMBC reports, noting the man wants to clear his name. “Attorney and justice advocate LaRonna Lassiter Saunders is working on his behalf.”
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“Mr. Denton has received death threats over a lie, over misinformation,” Saunders said. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He did not commit a crime. So please, run, tell that. Get the truth out there. Help us clear his name. Help us save his life.”
As of the time of publication Rep. Burchett’s post has not been taken down, nor has he made an apology.
Former federal and state prosecutor Ron Filipkowski, the editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch, wrote on social media: “I urge this man, who is an American who had nothing to do with the shooting, to sue the hell out of Rep. Tim Burchett.”