Kentucky legislator shoots self
Frankfort ( US), Dec. 14: Dan Johnson, a Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky known for inflammatory Facebook posts comparing Barack and Michelle Obama to monkeys and who defiantly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the basement of his home, killed himself on Thursday. He was 57.
Bullitt County Sheriff Donnie Tinnell said Johnson shot himself on a bridge in Mount Washington, Kentucky. Tinnell confirmed the death to WDRB- TV in Louisville.
Johnson was elected to the state legislature in 2016, part of a wave of Republican victories that gave the GOP control of the Kentucky House of representatives for the first time in nearly 100 years. He won his election despite Republican leaders urging him to drop out of the race after some of his racist Facebook posts came to light.
The pastor of Heart of Fire church in Louisville, Johnson sponsored a number of bills having to do with religious liberty.
But he was mostly out of the spotlight until Monday, when the Kentucky Centre for Investigative Reporting published an account from a woman saying Johnson sexually assaulted her in his home.
At the time, the woman told police about the incident, who investigated but closed the case and did not file charges.
On Tuesday, Johnson held a news conference in the pulpit of his church, which he began by leading friends and family in singing a portion of the Christmas carol “O Come All Ye Faithful.”
He said the allegations against him were “totally false” and said they were part of a nationwide strategy of defeating conservative Republicans.