In the chaos, Loudermill was grabbed by police and handcuffed. Police told him he was detained because he was taking too long to clear the area of the shooting, Loudermill said.
He was released soon afterwards and has not been charged with any offense.
While he was detained, he was photographed seated on a curb. An account on X, formally known as Twitter, with the name Deep Truth Intel used the photo and labeled Loudermill an “illegal immigrant” under arrest as the shooter.
From there, the misinformation spread quickly. It showed up in posts from the Missouri Freedom Caucus, the group of six Republican state senators who have disrupted floor action as they battle with the Senate’s GOP leadership. Three of those senators also spread the incorrect information on social media, including the Deep Truth Intel post or a similar post with Loudermill’s photo.
At a Freedom Caucus news conference last week, state Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville said he and the others who shared the false information had nothing to apologize for.
“There’s nothing that I see even worth that,” Brattin said when asked if he planned to apologize. “We’ve done nothing and, you know, I have no comment.”
The total refusal to apologize, or acknowledge any wrongdoing, infuriated Loudermill and the attorney who has been working with him to clear his name.
No because these were not official acts, which have a 100% constitutional protection. They’d be sued personally as private citizens.
It would be great if they were held personally accountable, but I wouldn’t be surprised if what usually happens, happens again.