Skip to main content

Kentucky Lawmaker and Pastor Facing Assault Allegations Likely Killed Himself

Share This article

A Kentucky lawmaker accused of sexual assault has died, and the coroner is calling it a "probable suicide."

The Bullitt County sheriff said Republican state representative Dan Johnson died from a single gunshot wound Wednesday night in Mount Washington, Kentucky.

The incident comes after the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published allegations from a woman who said Johnson sexually assaulted her in his basement four years ago.

Johnson denied the accusations.

The Associated Press reports that after an investigation, Louisville police closed the case and did not file charges.

Johnson served as the pastor of Heart of Fire Church in Louisville.

He sponsored a number of bills that pushed for religious liberty and teaching the Bible in public schools.

Johnson held a news conference from the pulpit of his church on Tuesday.

He told congregants that the allegations against him were "totally false" and said it was a part of a nationwide strategy to defeat conservative Republicans.

Shortly before his death, Johnson posted a message on Facebook asking people to take care of his wife.

He also wrote PTSD "is a sickness that will take my life, I cannot handle it any longer. It has won this life, BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME."

The post has since been removed.

Former Republican House Speaker Jeff Hoover shared his condolences on Twitter.

"I am very sad over the passing of Rep. Dan Johnson. Over the past few weeks in some of the darkest days of my life, he reached out to me, encouraged me, and prayed for me," he wrote. "Prayers for his wife, children, grandchildren and all affected by this sad event."

The coroner said an autopsy is scheduled for today.

Share This article

About The Author

CBN
News

CBN News is a national/international, nonprofit news organization that provides programming 24 hours a day by cable, satellite and the Internet. Staffed by a group of acclaimed news professionals, CBN News delivers stories to over a million viewers each day without a specific agenda. With its headquarters in Virginia Beach, Va., CBN News has bureaus in Washington D.C., Jerusalem, and elsewhere around the world. What began as a segment on CBN's flagship program, The 700 Club, in the early 1980s, CBN News has since expanded into a multimedia news organization that offers today's news headlines