Kentucky State Lawmaker’s Wife Wants to Replace Him

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The wife of a Republican lawmaker in Kentucky who killed himself after accusations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl says she will seek to replace him in the state legislature.

Rebecca Johnson made the announcement in a news release sent to The Associated Press. Dan Johnson killed himself Wednesday night. David Adams, a political operative who worked for Dan Johnson, confirmed Rebecca Johnson’s intentions.

In the release, Rebecca Johnson referred to her husband’s death as a “high-tech lynching based on lies and half-truths.”

The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published a story earlier this week detailing accusations that Johnson sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in 2013. Police had investigated the matter but did not file charges. The story prompted police to re-open the investigation.

Dan Johnson had called the accusations “totally false.”