A federal judge on Monday against three Missouri state senators who made social media posts incorrectly identifying a Kansas man as an undocumented immigrant and the shooter at the Kansas City Chiefs鈥� Super Bowl victory celebration.
Denton Loudermill, , had not shown that the Kansas federal court where he filed the lawsuit is the right one, U.S. District Judge John Broomes ruled. In the eight-page decision, almost identical for each case except for changing names, Broomes ruled that Republican state Sens. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Denny Hoskins, of Warrensburg, and Nick Schroer, of Defiance, had shown they had not intended to target Kansas with their posts and therefore should not be sued in a Kansas court.
The decision came just about a month after Loudermill鈥檚 lawsuit for defamatory social media posts. Broomes gave the same reasons for dismissing the case against the three senators that he did in dismissing the lawsuit against Burchett.
The shooting at the end of the victory celebration left one person dead and at least .
Just because a post on the internet can be read in a particular location does not mean that location can claim jurisdiction over the person who made the post, Broomes wrote, quoting appeals court precedent.
鈥淧laintiff has failed to put forth any evidence from which this court could find that defendant 鈥榩urposefully directed [its] activities at residents of the forum, and the litigation results from alleged injuries that arise out of or relate to those activities,鈥欌�� Broomes wrote, again quoting another case.
Broomes declined to transfer the case to the Western District of Missouri, which includes the location of the victory celebration and the Missouri Capitol Building in Jefferson City.
The cases are not dead, Arthur Benson, attorney for Loudermill, said in an email to The Independent.
鈥淭hey will be re-filed soon in Missouri,鈥� he said, declining to give any more information.
In the defense provided to the three senators , they claimed they wrote the social media posts 鈥渨hile 鈥� engaged in 鈥� regular duties as a Missouri State Senator in Cole County, Missouri,鈥� Broomes noted.
Broomes did not rule on the claims Brattin, Hoskins and Schroer made that they were immune from being sued for their statements because of their official positions.
Bailey鈥檚 office, in a statement, called the decision a victory for the state maintaining jurisdiction over cases involving Missourians.
鈥淨uestions of Missouri law belong in Missouri courts, not in remote courts in other states,鈥� spokeswoman Madeline Sieren wrote in an email. 鈥淲e have said that from Day One. Missourians should rest assured that Attorney General Bailey will always follow the law, even when it鈥檚 not easy.鈥�
Bailey鈥檚 participation in the case generated its own dispute. In a May letter to the commissioner of the Office of Administration, the state agency that certifies payments from Missouri鈥檚 legal expense fund, that no payments related to the lawsuits should be certified 鈥渨ithout my approval or a court order.鈥�
鈥淚 cannot justify money spent in this way,鈥� Parson wrote.
Bailey was protecting a legitimate state interest, Sieren said Monday.
鈥淭he state has an interest in ensuring remote courts in other states cannot answer questions of Missouri law,鈥� she said.
The lawsuits grew out of social media posts made soon after shooting erupted after the Feb. 14 Super Bowl victory parade and rally at Union Station in Kansas City. Loudermill, who was born in Kansas and lives there now, was detained briefly because he was too slow to leave the area of the shooting, he told The Independent earlier this year.
A photo of him, seated, with his hands restrained behind his back, was posted on X, formally known as Twitter, by an account with the name Deep Truth Intel. That post incorrectly identified him with a name associated with misinformation and said he was an undocumented immigrant.
Soon after that initial social media post, the Missouri Freedom Caucus, Hoskins, Brattin, Schroer and Burchett posted their own versions, some with the photo, some without.
鈥淭hese are 3 people arrested at the parade鈥t least one of those arrested is an illegal immigrant. CLOSE OUR BORDERS!鈥� the Missouri Freedom Caucus posted.
The post was deleted and the Missouri Freedom Caucus also sought to retract its mistake, linking to a KMBC post about Loudermill鈥檚 effort to clear his name.
鈥淒enton is an Olathe native, a father of three & a proud @Chiefs fan,鈥� the post states. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not a mass shooter. Images of him being detained for being intoxicated & not moving away from the crime scene at the Chiefs rally have spread online. He just wants to clear his name.鈥�
Hoskins鈥� version shared a screenshot of the initial anonymous post and blamed President Joe Biden and political leaders of Kansas City for making the shooting possible.
Brattin鈥檚 first post linking Loudermill to the shooting, since deleted, demanded 鈥�#POTUS CLOSE THE BORDER鈥� and incorporated the deleted anonymous post that kicked everything off.
Schroer was the least certain post about the immigration and arrest status of Loudermill among the three.
Schroer鈥檚 post included a link to one from Burchett stating, over Loudermill鈥檚 photo, that 鈥淥ne of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal Alien.鈥�
鈥淐an we get any confirmation or denial of this from local officials or law enforcement?鈥� Schroer wrote. 鈥淚鈥檝e been sent videos or stills showing at least 6 different people arrested from yesterday but officially told only 3 still in custody. The people deserve answers.鈥�
Brattin did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the decision.
Hoskins, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, said he was pleased by the decision and now wants to see the people brought to trial.
鈥淚 will continue to pray for the innocent victims of the Kansas City parade shooting,鈥� Hoskins said.
Schroer said he sees the decision as vindication and that he is considering legal action for defamation against media outlets.
鈥淚 am glad that the rule of law has been maintained and these frivolous lawsuits targeting conservative Senators were dismissed,鈥� Schroer said. 鈥淟awmakers absolutely should have the ability to question the validity of claims regarding whether or not criminals murdering our constituents are legal citizens.鈥�
This story was originally published by the part of the States Newsroom.
