Missouri AG demanding accountability after Kansas City's tweet on Harrison Butker
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Attorney's General Office is responding Thursday following a post on the social media platform X by the official Kansas City account regarding Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
The city posted on X just after 7:40 p.m. Wednesday saying "Just a reminder that Harrison Butker lives in the City of Lee's Summit." The post came following backlash from Butker's commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
The city later deleted the post and responded just after 8:20 p.m. with a typo saying "We apologies for our previous tweet. It was shared in error."
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas then responded on X saying "A message appeared earlier this evening from a City public account. The message was clearly inappropriate for a public account. The City has correctly apologized for the error, will review account access, and ensure nothing like it is shared in the future from public channels."
On Thursday afternoon, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey posted on X saying his office is "demanding accountability after Kansas City doxxed Butker for daring to express his religious beliefs."
Bailey is also demanding Lucas turn over all documents, records, and communications relating to his office's X post.
"I will enforce the Missouri Human Rights Act to ensure Missourians are not targeted for their free exercise of religion," Bailey said.
“Missourians deserve better from our elected leaders. Mr. Butker was well within his rights to discuss his religious views—views which are shared by millions of members of his faith tradition. Sadly, history is filled with examples of people of religious faith being targeted for their beliefs by government officials, Bailey continued.
Butker is one of America’s most famous faces of the conservative Catholic faith.
After the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last season, Butker spent a week at a monastery for silence, prayer, and reflection. He has also appeared in advertisements for the nonprofit Catholic Vote, encouraging Kansans to vote for the Value Them Both Amendment that would have restricted abortions in Kansas in 2022.
During his recent speech last Saturday at the Catholic private school, he made his conservative Catholic beliefs well known.
During his speech, Butker assailed Pride Month, said some Catholic leaders were "pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America and said that most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children.
Butker received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees.
The NFL's senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer sent a statement about Butker's speech to People Magazine saying "Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.
The Chiefs have not commented on Butker's speech.