Former Smithfield police officer, Johnston school board member files federal lawsuit
An embattled Johnston County school board member and former Smithfield police officer filed a federal lawsuit, claiming he is a victim and asking for damages.
Ronald Johnson filed a 111-page federal lawsuit accusing the town of Smithfield, police leaders, school board members and others of violating his rights.
Johnson lists complaints of sexual and disability discrimination, wrongful termination and defamation.
Johnson was fired from the police department after an internal investigation, and the school board censured him for an inappropriate text.
He was charged earlier this year with one count of felony extortion, one count of felony obstruction of justice and three counts of willfully failing to discharge duties.
According to court documents, Johnson in April 2022 attempted to extort a congressional candidate, DeVan Barbour, by threatening to release a defamatory recording targeting Barbour weeks before the primary election.
The documents state Johnson, who was allegedly having an affair with a woman, met Barbour after midnight in the parking lot behind Clayton Fitness off U.S. Highway 70 with the recording and threatened to release it if Barbour did not pressure the woman to say she was not having an affair with Johnson.
The woman was not related to a congressional candidate, attorneys stated in court.
The state acquired text messages between Johnson and Barbour, when he asked to meet behind Clayton Fitness, but the mentioned recordings were never released.
"[Johnson] found out some defamatory information about [Barbour] from the woman and he used that information when he met with the candidate he provided him with a recording to listen to in the car," described state attorney Benjamin Zellinger. "In that recording he requested that the candidate have the person he was having an affair with deny he was ever having an affair ... in exchange for that he wouldn’t release this recording."
According to the state, extortion is the biggest offense the ex-officer faces, and the state said there is strong evidence against Johnson, calling his threat against Barbour blackmail. The felony carries a maximum of 59 months in prison.
Johnson is also accused of violating his duties as a school board member, allegedly unlawfully recording a closed school board meeting in May 2022 and attempting to have two Clayton High school students with special needs transferred to another school as an act of personal retaliation.
Johnson was terminated in October by the town of Smithfield. That same month, the school board voted to censure him, following allegations that he secretly recorded board members on 10 different occasions.
