Dan Johnson (Kentucky politician)

Dan Johnson
Johnson in his 1978 high-school yearbook
Born	Danny Ray Johnson (1960-10-18)October 18, 1960 Bastrop, Louisiana, US
Died	Dec 13, 2017 (2017-12-14) (aged 57) Mount Washington, Kentucky, US
Cause of death	Suicide by gunshot
Resting place	Mount Washington, Kentucky, US
Occupations	Preacher politician
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Tylia Harris ​ (divorced)​ Rebecca Wilson ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	5
Years active	1977–2017
Ecclesiastical career
Religion	Nondenominational Christianity
Church	Heart of Fire
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 49th district
In office January 1, 2017 (2017-01-01) – December 13, 2017 (2017-12-13)
Preceded by	Linda H. Belcher
Succeeded by	Linda H. Belcher
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Danny Ray Johnson (October 18, 1960 – December 13, 2017) was an American religious leader and politician whose many extravagant biographical claims were refuted in an exposé released two days before his suicide. Married twice with five children, Johnson was originally from Louisiana, but had settled in Kentucky's Louisville metropolitan area by the 1980s. Throughout his life, Johnson claimed to have been involved with many prominent Americans and in many important US events; however, evidence would later come to light disputing most of these claims.

After becoming involved with Christianity in his youth, Johnson traveled with missionaries in Tennessee and South America before founding a controversial Louisville-area church in the late 1970s—Heart of Fire Church. With Johnson as its bishop, Heart of Fire eschewed the trappings of traditional Christian churches, and instead at times featured toplessness, cigarette smoking, underage drinking, anti-Islamism, and a tattoo parlor. Following arson in 2000, the church was rebuilt after Johnson was sued by his insurance provider.

In the 2010s, Johnson became politically active, and despite a controversial campaign that included his own party leadership requesting his withdrawal, he was elected as a Republican to the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 49th District. After eleven months and nine days in office, an exposé by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting was publicly released; it included many refutations of Johnson's self-described biography, as well as details of a 2013 child sexual abuse allegation. After denying the accusations of his alleged victim, Johnson fatally shot himself on December 13, 2017.