OLATHE, Kan. — An attorney for Denton Loudermill, Jr. filed a false light invasion of privacy lawsuit this week that seeks damages from Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett.
Accusations of Loudermill being one of the shooters at last month's Chiefs Super Bowl rally quickly spreadacross social media in other states.
Congressman Burchett was one of several legislators who shared the false information.
"Spread the word that I am not the guy he (Burchett) said I was," Loudermill said. "Like, he spread my name and said I was the shooter and illegal alien."
More than a month later, the tweet from the congressman remains on his X page after reaching tens of thousands of people.
In the tweet, he still refers to Loudermill as "one of the shooters".
Loudermill was detained by police and later released for an unrelated matter at the rally.
He has been trying since then to clear his name .
"It affected me emotionally," he said. "It's hard to express how I feel."
His attorney, LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, said with the lawsuit they are just getting started.
"That's a huge impact for an everyday citizen to navigate and try to recover from." she said. "It's almost like a David and Goliath situation. We are not fearful and we see how that story turned out."
A false light claim is similar, but with differences from a claim of defamation.
Defamation is more about injuring someone's reputation.
False light protects someone from embarrassment if a statement is misleading.
Lassister Saunders said the congressman doesn't have any extra protections under the law.
KSHB 41 reached out to Congressman Burchett for comment this week.
He has not replied.
