State Representative Surrounded by More Controversy

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Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort.

Zach Combest, Website Editor

Johnson is back in the hot seat.

Bullitt County state representative, Dan Johnson has been accused of molestation.

Court documents were released on Dec. 11 about the accusations. The Republican and Democratic parties are calling for Johnson to resign. This isn’t the first time Johnson has been in the public’s eye.

According to court documents posted by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, the molestation took place on New Year’s Eve in 2012. The alleged victim, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident. She told authorities that she was staying in a living area of the Heart of Fire City Church where Johnson was the pastor. She said that Johnson, who had been drinking a lot, approached her, kissed her and fondled her under her clothes.

Johnson was never criminally charged with the crime as the case was closed. Shortly after the report was issued, Mac Brown, the chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky, issued a statement. “Last October, after local media reports about reprehensible and racist posts on his Facebook page, we asked then-candidate Dan Johnson to drop out of the race for State Representative,” said Brown in the statement. “Following today’s extensively sourced and documented story from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, we once again find ourselves in a position where we must call for him to resign, this time, from the Kentucky General Assembly.”

The House Democratic Leadership, consisting of House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins, House Democratic Caucus Chair Dennis Keene and House Democratic Whip Wilson Stone, issued the following statement: “The allegations of felony sexual abuse and other crimes against Rep. Dan Johnson are deeply troubling and demand his resignation from the House of Representatives,” the statement read. “All of his unlawful acts should be investigated to the fullest extent, but we particularly urge the appropriate law enforcement agencies to carefully re-examine accusations of sexual misconduct so that justice is secured for his alleged victim.”

This isn’t the first time Johnson has been involved in controversy. Last year he was elected into the House of Representatives for the 49 district which was held by Linda Belcher, but he made headlines when local media exposed some of his activity on social media. Johnson posted inappropriate pictures that many people called racist of former President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee. Even with this, Johnson was elected to the House, which surprised some people. Now with the recent allegations, many politicians are done with Johnson’s behavior and want him out. Senior William Smith said, “While I would like to see criminal action taken, it’s mostly in his own hands at this point. Everyone has begged him to step down but he’s an egomaniac, and is going to sit it out until May unless he gets thrown behind bars by some miracle. Our county voters need to make sure people like this don’t come to power by voting for candidates, not parties. This man was elected because people walked into the booth and just ticked Republican on every option, because partisanship in this country is treated like a sporting event. Their team needed more points, and they didn’t care who they were coming from.”

Johnson spoke out about the allegations on Tuesday and said her allegations were horrible and he is accusing Belcher for being behind the allegation against him. “I already knew Johnson was a scumbag, calling Obama a monkey was enough for me to get an impression, but I didn’t think the rabbit hole went this deep. It’s just embarrassing for this county, and it’s what we’re going to be known for for a bit,” said Smith.