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The day after the suicide of Kentucky state Rep. Dan Johnson, his widow announced that she plans to run for his seat.


"Dan is gone but the story of his life is far from over," Rebecca Johnson said in a statement Thursday to multiple 

 "These high-tech lynchings based on lies and half-truths can't be allowed to win the day. I've been fighting behind my husband for 30 years and his fight will go on."



It's the latest turn in what has been shocking series of events.


On Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published 

 of Johnson that included allegations he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in the basement of the church where he served as pastor in 2013.
He was 

 on Wednesday night next to his vehicle on a bridge over the Salt River in Mount Washington. Bullitt County Coroner David Billings said Johnson, 57, died from a single, self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
Johnson's body was found after he posted what was apparently a suicide note on Facebook in which he denied the allegations. "GOD knows the truth, nothing is the way they make it out to be," Johnson wrote, 

 reports. "I cannot handle it any longer . . . BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME."
Since his death, his widow has given multiple interviews in which she criticizes the media, the Louisville 

The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting is an initiative of Louisville Public Media, which operates three public radio stations. 


 "We share our condolences with Rep. Johnson's family, friends, constituents and church community," said Stephen George, executive editor of Louisville Public Media. "Like many, we continue to grapple with what happened. Our story is based on more than 100 interviews and thousands of pages of public documents, which are posted online along with our investigation. Readers can see the reporting and documentation for themselves."  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


A previous version of this story said Louisville Public Media operates three NPR member stations. In fact, it operates three public radio stations, one of which (WFPL) is an NPR member station. 

Politics and Government News

State Rep. Dan Johnson's death came days after a news outlet published allegations he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl. His widow decried "high-tech lynchings based on lies and half-truths."

Wife of Kentucky lawmaker who killed himself plans to run for his seat

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