MO Senate is a ‘clown show’ amid fight over senators sued for false posts on KC shooting

The Missouri Senate collapsed into bitter recrimination on Thursday amid an effort to urge Attorney General Andrew Bailey to not use state dollars to defend three Republican senators facing federal lawsuits for sharing social media posts falsely accusing a man of being a shooter in the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting.

Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican, offered an amendment to the Senate Journal, typically approved without controversy each day, stating that it is the opinion of the Senate that Bailey, a Republican facing a competitive primary race, “should not expend any public funds or monies” from a state legal defense fund to defend the senators.

Bailey is representing the three senators – Sens. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg, and Nick Schroer of St. Charles County.

All three senators, members of the hard-right Missouri Freedom Caucus, were sued for posts claiming that Denton Loudermill, an Olathe native, was an undocumented immigrant and a shooter in the February shooting that killed one person and injured more than 20.

Senate Republicans have been gripped by acrimony ahead of the General Assembly’s mandatory adjournment on Friday. On Wednesday, the Senate sent back for more negotiations a proposal that would make amending the state constitution more difficult, following a record-length filibuster by Democrats that began Monday.

The measure is a top priority of the Freedom Caucus, who have repeatedly clashed with Republican leaders throughout the session. Many Republicans want to raise the threshold for changing the state constitution ahead of an expected statewide vote in November to overturn the state’s abortion ban.

Cierpiot “betrayed the entire pro-life cause in the state of Missouri for a generation yesterday by derailing the initiative petition reform bill out of personal animosity,” Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican running for governor, said after the amendment was offered.

Eigel, a Freedom Caucus member, said the chamber was operating on hatred and that Cierpiot “wasn’t funny at all.”

The comment came after Eigel earlier offered his own amendment to the Journal to note the Senate “was interrupted by a stampeding herd of rhinoceroses running through the Senate chamber.” He later withdrew the amendment.

As Eigel continued to attack Cierpiot, Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican, moved to adjourn the chamber for the day. The Senate quickly ended its daily session as senators walked off the floor in anger.

“It’s embarrassing,” Cierpiot told reporters on Thursday, referring to Eigel and the Freedom Caucus. “The Freedom Caucus has made it a clown show.”

Cierpiot’s amendment offered an unusual way to force the Senate to debate the actions of Brattin, Hoskins, and Schroer, as well as Bailey’s decision to represent them.

The lawsuits against the Missouri senators came after an onslaught of false social media posts were shared with photos of Loudermill after the shooting. Loudermill also filed a similar lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, last month.

The Missouri lawmakers’ posts caused Loudermill to receive death threats, incur damages totaling more than $75,000, anxiety, and loss of sleep, according to the lawsuits, which accuse the senators of false light invasion of privacy. The lawsuits ask a judge to issue damages “to punish” or deter the senators and others from similar conduct in the future.

The lawsuits from Loudermill argue that the three senators were acting as private citizens when they made the posts. But Bailey’s office argued in a court filing that Brattin was acting in his official capacity and is protected by “absolute legislative immunity.”

Cierpiot said Thursday that he thinks Bailey representing the three senators was “ridiculous.” He said he spoke with Bailey’s office and was told “they have no choice.”

“I don’t know that I agree,” he said. “It’s just unfortunate because those people say something stupid about an innocent American and I think the slander that they did they should be held responsible for posting.”