Two years after Chiefs rally shooting, this family still seeks accountability
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Father filed defamation suits after being falsely accused as 2024 shooter
- Kehoe proposes deep cuts to at-home care program for severely disabled
- Platform Ventures nixed warehouse sale after community backlash over ICE use
Hello, Star readers.
Today, we’re exploring a Johnson County family’s two-year fight to hold Missouri politicians accountable after they falsely accused a father of three of being the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooter.
Next, we’ll get into:
• ‘Devastating’ cuts: Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s proposed state budget would slash funding for an at-home care program that would upend the lives of those who have severe disabilities.
• ICE deal falls through: After intense community blowback, Platform Ventures nixed a deal to sell a Kansas City warehouse to the federal government for use as a mega ICE prison.
This week in politics
Shortly after shots rang out at Union Station on Feb. 14, 2024, a trio of Missouri lawmakers supercharged online rumors by sharing a photo of Denton Loudermill and falsely identifying him as the shooter.
As the false accusations spread, the Olathe father of three fought to clear his name. He filed a series of defamation lawsuits against Sen. Rick Brattin, Sen. Nick Schroer, and then-Sen. Denny Hoskins, who now serves as Missouri secretary of state.
But he didn’t live to see those lawsuits resolved.
“At this point, we don’t want an apology. We want something more,” said his sister, Reba Paul.
Loudermill changed after the false accusations, his family told The Star. The man his sisters described as the life of the party began to fear large crowds. He felt trapped. He grew paranoid and withdrawn. He self-medicated. And 10 months ago, on April 11, 2025, Loudermill died.
In the two years since the mass shooting, the lawmakers at the center of the false accusation controversy have advanced in their political careers. The Missouri attorney general’s office has continued to defend them against the defamation charges in court.
“We’re going to fight this to the very end,” said LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, an attorney who represents Paul. “It may look like they’re ascending and they’re getting away with it, but they won’t.”
Read more about the family’s quest for justice.
More from this past week
• Republicans in the Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of an anti-trans bill policing restroom usage and prohibiting gender marker change requests on driver’s licenses.
• Friday was the last day on the job for a Kansas City police officer who killed three people while on duty. Here’s how much KCPD paid Blayne Newton to resign from the department.
• Wyandotte County officials aimed to leverage Chiefs stadium negotiations to secure funding for crumbling infrastructure. Now, a promised KCK bridge project might be delayed.
Looking for more?
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That’s all for now! See you next week.
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