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GOP Representative Faces Calls To Resign Following Report

LRC Public Information

A Republican state representative is facing mounting bipartisan pressure to step down in the wake of a Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting piece detailing alleged sexual misconduct and other accusations.

Rep. Dan Johnson has been a magnet for controversy since his campaign last year, with his own party withholding support over inflammatory Facebook posts, including one depicting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

Now, with an investigative report highlighting accusations by a woman who says Johnson groped her at a party in 2012 when she was 17, Democrats and Republicans are urging the Mt. Washington lawmaker to pack his bags.

"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. 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," said Tres Watson with the Republican Party of Kentucky.

Democratic leaders are joining the chorus.

"Given the seriousness of these allegations, Rep. Johnson should step down immediately. This is indicative of a corrupt culture in Frankfort that the Republican party continues to accept. Kentucky’s families deserve better,” Mary Nishimuta, executive director for the Kentucky Democratic Party, said.

Johnson also serves as pastor for the Heart of Fire Church in Louisville, where he is known as “the Pope.”

The seven-month investigation was based on more than 100 interviews and thousands of pages of public documents. Johnson refused to be interviewed for the piece and, as of Monday afternoon, had not responded.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.