Dan Johnson’s Facebook Message Suggests He Killed Himself Over ‘Fake News’

On Wednesday evening, Kentucky Rep. Dan Johnson (R-KY) was found dead inside his car, parked on a bridge in Mount Washington, Kentucky.

Johnson’s body was discovered by law enforcement agents on Greenwell Ford Road at 7 p.m. EST. After the sheriff’s department recovered a gun from the vehicle, the police confirmed Johnson took his life, CBS affiliated WLKY reported.

His last Facebook post (now deleted) read almost like a suicide note, in which he mentioned an article published by an NPR affiliated site accusing him of sexual misconduct and called it fake news. Furthermore, phrases like “I cannot handle it any longer” and “Heaven is my home” point to the possibility Johnson might have killed himself.

An article titled “The Pope’s Long Con” was published Monday by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, a branch of 89.3 WFPL News, whose parent company is NPR. The piece focused on an accusation made by 21-year-old Maranda Richmond against Johnson, detailing how the latter sexually assaulted her in his Fern Creek church in 2013 when she was 17.

The reports also mentioned, according to police records, an investigation was opened into the matter back in April 2013, but was shut down soon due to lack of cooperation from Richmond. However, following the NPR article and calls for Johnson’s resignation, the police confirmed Tuesday it reopened the original investigation.

Hours before the police reopened the investigation into the accusations against Johnson, the Kentucky lawmaker held a news conference at his Heart of Fire Church in Fern Creek, denying all the allegations against him in the article.

“This allegation concerning this lady, this young girl, absolutely has no merit,” Johnson said, KYCIR reported. “These are unfounded accusations, totally. “I don’t want to get into details there, but there was nothing to do with me or any sexual thing to do with me, whatever happened after that, I don’t know why she would make that up.” He then proceeded to hold up a rock with the letters “NPR” carved on it, blaming the current political atmosphere for the false accusations against him. “NPR is casting the first stone,” he added.

The article also alleged Johnson lied about his heroics during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his service as the White House chaplain. The piece delved into the lawmaker’s past, to the time when he was indicted in the attempted arson of his car and also when he was a suspect in the arson of his church.

The Louisville Public Media expressed their condolence on the death of Johnson.

“All of us at Louisville Public Media are deeply sad to hear that State Representative Dan Johnson has died, apparently of suicide,” the statement read, News reported. “We grieve for his family, friends, church community and constituents. Our Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting released a report on Johnson this week. Our aim, as always, is to provide the public with fact-based, unbiased reporting and hold public officials accountable for their actions.”

Former Republican House Speaker Jeff Hoover, who resigned from his post following the confession that he had settled a sexual harassment lawsuit, expressed grief over Johnson's death.

“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,” Hoover wrote on his Twitter page, Wednesday night. “Prayers for his wife, children, grandchildren and all affected by this sad event.”