Governor: Missouri won’t pay out in defamation case against senators

By St. Louis Post Dispatch via My Courier-Tribune

ST. LOUIS — Gov. Mike Parson says the state will not pay out if three state senators, all accused of defamation after the Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting, lose their fights in court.

Parson on Monday ordered the state’s administration commissioner not to pay any legal damages for the three senators, who reposted online claims that a suburban Kansas City man was one of the shooters after the parade.

“Missourians should not be held liable for legal expenses on judgements due to state senators falsely attacking a private citizen on social media,” Parson wrote in a letter to the commissioner, Ken Zellers. “I cannot justify money spent in this way.”

The letter, which bars Zellers from releasing money from the state’s legal expense fund to pay judgments, marks the Republican governor’s sharpest expression of disapproval yet for how state Sens. Denny Hoskins, of Warrensburg; Rick Brattin, of Harrisonville; and Nick Schroer, of Defiance, conducted themselves in the wake of a shooting at the Kansas City Super Bowl parade in February.

It also solidifies a break, at least on this subject, with Attorney General Andrew Bailey, whom Parson appointed to his job and whose office is defending the senators in court.

The senators, all Republicans, did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Monday afternoon. Neither did Madeline Sieren, a spokesperson for Bailey, another Republican.

It was not immediately clear who would cover legal damages, if required, if the state wouldn’t. State law limits the use of campaign contributions for legal fees.

The three senators in question kicked off the fracas in February in the wake of a shooting that left one dead and 22 injured at the Kansas City parade.

An anonymous account on X — formerly Twitter — had posted a photo of Olathe, Kansas, resident Denton Loudermill being detained by police. The account falsely identified him as the shooter and an “illegal immigrant.”

The senators reposted the information with their own messages:

Brattin tagged President Joe Biden’s account and wrote, “CLOSE THE BORDER!”

Hoskins tagged Biden’s account and wrote that the president’s border policies were inviting “violent illegal immigrants into the U.S.”

Schroer asked for confirmation or denial from local officials and law enforcement. “The people deserve answers,” he wrote.

The answers eventually came out: Loudermill wasn’t the shooter. His lawyer said he had been detained for being intoxicated and failing to leave a crime scene and was eventually released without being cited or arrested.

In April, Loudermill sued the senators in federal court, seeking compensation for the death threats and mental distress he has experienced since the false identification.

Parson had been at odds with the three state senators at the center of the controversy. All three are members of the Missouri Freedom Caucus and have repeatedly disrupted business in the Legislature. They have helped block confirmation of Parson’s appointees and filibustered a special tax on hospitals that helps cover the state’s Medicaid costs.

But this month, Parson also indicated frustration with the three regarding their parade tweets, after Bailey’s office said it would be representing the senators in the case and argued that the case should be dismissed.

Bailey’s office said in motions that lawsuits against Brattin and Schroer should be dismissed, in part because they were acting in their official capacities and therefore had “absolute legislative immunity.” The motions also argued that the posts weren’t about Loudermill but U.S. border security and government transparency. The attorney general’s office has not yet filed a response in Hoskins’ case.

But a week later, Parson told reporters gathered in his office he was bothered by the situation and the possibility of taxpayers bearing the costs of the litigation.

“Politicians,” he said, “have to be responsible, and have to be held to a higher standard.

“You don’t get a free pass just because you’re a politician.”