JEFFERSON CITY â During an overnight filibuster in the Missouri Senate, Kansas City Democrat Lauren Arthur blasted members of the Freedom Caucus for spreading misinformation about the mass shooting in her hometown, suggesting a man falsely blamed for the deadly event could sue for defamation.
Republican Sens. Nick Schroer, Rick Brattin and Denny Hoskins, along with the X account for the hard-right Freedom Caucus, all shared false information online that claimed a man detained by police was the Kansas City shooter and an âillegalâ immigrant.
The underlying posts that spread false information, including one from U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, were later deleted.
A Freedom Caucus post that shared another userâs false claim about the man, along with posts that Hoskins had made, were later deleted, .
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Hoskins, Brattin and the Freedom Caucus shared a post claiming the shooter was 44-year-old migrant named Sahil Omar.
The name Sahil Omar and the same description have been used before on social media to make similar erroneous claims in connection with a January explosion in Fort Worth, Texas, and a December shooting in Las Vegas.
The man pictured in the posts, Denton Loudermill, is actually from Olathe, Kansas, in Kansas City reported.
Loudermillâs attorney told the station that he had been detained for being intoxicated and failing to leave a crime scene. She told the news station he was eventually released without being cited or arrested.
Two juveniles have since been charged in the shooting that left one woman dead and more than 20 others injured.
The posts also drew criticism from Senate President Caleb Rowden, who is running against Hoskins in the GOP primary for secretary of state.
âI would hope my colleagues who used his image with false and inflammatory rhetoric would apologize. He absolutely deserves that,â Rowden posted online on Sunday.
This is absolutely true. I would hope my colleagues who used his image with false and inflammatory rhetoric would apologize. He absolutely deserves that.
â Caleb Rowden (@calebrowden)
One X post by Hoskins that has since been deleted appeared to make fun of a statement Senator Arthur made after the shooting.
âIâd hope this first-hand experience with gun violence â children shot at a parade â will help them see the urgent need for sensible gun laws,â Arthur said in the post.
Hoskins shared a screenshot of the post and âI hope this first-hand experience with violent illegal immigrants & repeat violent offenders â children shot at a parade â will help them see the urgent need to close our borders.â
Arthur roasted Hoskins during the filibuster without mentioning his name.
âHe didnât quote tweet me, he took a screenshot of what I had said, and then used that to mock me,â Arthur said, adding there were âseveral tweets from that account and from other accounts, including from other senators in our chamber, perpetuating that misinformation.
A post by Schroer shared the claim that the shooter had been identified as an illegal alien, questioning whether it was true. âCan we get any confirmation or denial of this from local officials or law enforcement?â he asked.
âIs one of the alleged shooters an illegal immigrant?â the Freedom Caucus account asked.
âI think they would argue, âoh, we were just asking questions. Why is everyone so upset? We were just asking questions with this manâs picture,â these loaded questions insinuating all kinds of hateful things,â Arthur said.
âIt didnât take long for the media to correct that information and say that people were wrongly targeting someone who had nothing to do with the actual shooting. And it took a long time for our colleagues to acknowledge and take down some of the posts.â
âHonestly it seems like those posts were only taken down in light of the fact that someone said, âwell, this seems like libel. This seems like defamation. This would be grounds for a pretty good lawsuit.ââ
âEven after those posts were taken down, I didnât hear or read or see any apologies, for the role that those people played,â Arthur said.
Said Hoskins on Tuesday: âI donât believe I did anything wrong and I have no further comment.â
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat who is running for governor, called the actions âdisgustingâ and said âcitizens deserve better.â
, a professor emerita at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, said individuals who shared the false information could face legal liability.
âRepublication of a libel is a problem. I canât see any defense,â Davidson said in an email. âUntrue statements that are published and subject an identified person to shame or ridicule constitute libel.
âFalsely calling someone a murderer is libelous unless some sort of privilege applies. Here I would say an apology is in order, but an apology only lessens damages. An apology canât erase the libel.â
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Editorâs note: Sandra Davidson is a professor emerita at the MU School of Journalism. An earlier version of this story was incorrect.