[#rapeculture]
The permeating sense of inevitability of Akela Lacy’s report for Politico—
A Kentucky lawmaker died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Wednesday evening after facing allegations that he molested a 17-year-old girl in 2012.
Dan Johnson, a Republican state representative, shot himself on the Greenwell Ford Road bridge in Mt. Washington, Kentucky, according to the Bullitt County coroner. The apparent suicide came after his Republican colleagues called for him to step down following reports that he assaulted a young woman on New Year’s Eve of 2012.
—is its own curious, unhelpful beast. The the former self-described “pope” of Heart of Fire, later elected to the Kentucky House, was accused after the incident several years ago, but police closed their investigation without charges. The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting spent seven months investigating the legislator, leading to a report Monday; on Tuesday, Rep. Johnson (R-KY49) denied the charges during a press conference.
“The accusations … are false GOD and only GOD knows the truth, nothing is the way they make it out to be. AMERICA will not survive this type of judge and jury fake news. Conservatives take a stand,” the post read. “9-11-2001 NYC/WTC, PTSD 24/7 16 years is a sickness that will take my life, I cannot handle it any longer. IT Has Won This Life . BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME.“
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson posted a distressed denial to Facebook, and, some short hours later, apparently ended his own life.
So, yeah. This is one of those things, y’know? It was going to happen.
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Dunlop, R. G., and Jacob Ryan. “The Pope’s Long Con”. Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. 11 December 2017.
Lacy, Akela. “Following molestation allegations, Kentucky lawmaker dies in apparent suicide”. Politico. 13 December 2017.
This Is 