Olathe man falsely connected to Chiefs parade shooting has died, his attorneys say
An Olathe man who was falsely identified as a shooter at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade last year has died, his attorneys said.
Arthur Benson and LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, attorneys for Denton Loudermill, who in recent months have filed a series of lawsuits over social media comments that erroneously connected Loudermill to the shooting, said in emails to The Star that their client died Friday.
The circumstances of Loudermill's death were not known Friday evening.
A photo of Loudermill with Kansas City police following the February 2024 parade shooting thrust him into the public eye, and the lawsuits came as Loudermill sought to clear his name. Posts from the Missouri Freedom Caucus, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, and Donald Trump Jr. falsely cast Loudermill as being connected to the shooting.
Most recently, his attorneys had filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in February against former Missouri state senator and current Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and state Sen. Rick Brattin over social media posts the lawsuits claims they had made on X, formerly Twitter, amplifying a post that falsely identified Loudermill as a parade shooter and an illegal immigrant.
Loudermill was at the rally and was briefly detained by police after shots rang out. Officers stopped him and told him he was moving 'too slow,' his attorneys wrote in court documents. He was eventually released, but a photo taken during the 10 minutes he had been handcuffed and seated on the curb was shared on social media, they said.
Loudermill's attorneys said his family intends to continue the litigation by substituting an estate as plaintiff.
'More details will be provided in time, but for now, we ask that you honor the family's need for privacy as they come together to grieve this tremendous loss,' Lassiter Saunders wrote. 'While the family takes this time to mourn, we want to make it clear that this is not over.'
The lawsuits filed in February cite a pair of allegations against Hoskins and Brattin: False light invasion of privacy and libel per se.
Said Lassiter Saunders: 'Mr. Loudermill should not have spent his final days burdened with stress and chasing down a lie that went viral due to the careless and heartless actions of a Congressman, Missouri senators, and social media influencers, who couldn't be bothered to verify the truth before destroying a man's life. If you thought we were determined before, you haven't seen anything yet!'
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