Johnston school board member indicted on extortion and obstruction of justice charges

A Johnston County school board member who has come under fire in the past year has been charged with extortion, felony obstruction of justice and three counts of willfully failing to discharge his duties.

Ronald Johnson, who was previously fired as a police detective by the Smithfield Police Department, was indicted Monday by a Johnston County grand jury.

Among the charges is an allegation that Johnson threatened to reveal a defamatory recording of a candidate running for the U.S. House unless the candidate pressured a relative to recant statements that she had an affair with Johnson.

Johnson made his first appearance in Johnston County Superior Court on Tuesday morning. His bond was set at $50,000.

He has previously faced accusations such as sending inappropriate texts, violating school board policies and using police equipment for personal use.

Johnson has been publicly censured twice by the school board.

Johnson, who was first elected to the school board in 2016, did not return emails Monday requesting comment. He did not speak in court on Tuesday, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.

Extortion charge

According to the indictment, Johnson “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did threaten and communicate a threat to DeVan Barbour IV.” Barbour was a candidate who ran in last spring’s Republican primary for the U.S. House District 13 seat. Barbour came in second in the GOP primary to Bo Hines, who lost in the fall to Democrat Wiley Nickel.

“Defendant threatened to release a recording in the defendant’s possession of defamatory allegations concerning DeVan Barbour IV, weeks before a primary election in which Devan Barbour IV was on the ballot,” the indictment reads. “Defendant threatened to release the recording if DeVan Barbour IV did not pressure Angela McLeod Barbour into recanting her statements that she had an affair with the Defendant.”

The obstruction charge stems from an allegation that Johnson removed evidence “related to his criminal activity from Clayton Fitness,” when he became aware that law enforcement was investigating his belongings in the facility.

The failure to discharge his duties charges revolve around allegations of violations of school board policy.

Public censures

On Aug. 24, 2022, the school board voted 6-1 to censure Johnson on accusations of violating board policy by secretly recording conversations among board members. He also was accused of trying to have two special-education students removed from a school because of his personal issues with a parent.

On Oct. 6, the school board again voted 6-1 to censure Johnson for violating school policy by sending texts during school board meetings about wanting to have a relationship with a female school employee.

On Oct. 14, Johnson was fired from his job as a detective in the Smithfield Police Department due to what town officials called his “detrimental personal conduct.”

Johnson has accused the prior board of engaging in a witch hunt. He’s also publicly apologized for the texts, which he has called a “lapse of judgment.”

Criminal investigation

The school board had asked Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle to try to remove Johnson from office after he refused to resign his board seat.

In October, Doyle said she had received materials from several different agencies, groups and individuals regarding Johnson. Based on her initial review, Doyle said then that she had “requested a thorough and complete investigation be conducted to determine if further actions are warranted.”

“These cases have required an intensive, lengthy investigation,” Doyle said Monday in announcing the indictments. “During the investigation, it became apparent that I could potentially be called as a witness to testify against Ronald Johnson during the prosecution of these offenses.”

Because of that, the case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecution Section of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Doyle said that the state had reviewed the case and made all charging decisions.

“There it is... No surprise,” school board member Michelle Antoine posted on Facebook on Monday. “How appropriate that Josh Stein’s office will be prosecuting and made the charges in the indictment. This is nothing like NY and Donald Trump, nothing at all/sarc.”

School board races in Johnston County are officially non-partisan. But Antoine and Johnson are both Republicans. Stein is a Democrat but Doyle is a Republican.

Almost elected board chair

Despite the censures and the criminal investigation, Johnson had fallen one vote short in December of being elected the new board chair.

Johnson and Lynn Andrews were both nominated to be the new chair to replace Todd Sutton, who did not run for reelection last year.

Andrews won in a 4-3 vote, with Johnson and new board members Antoine and Kevin Donovan voting against her. During their election campaigns, the two new conservative members had defended Johnson.

At Donovan’s urging, the board directed its legal counsel to present a process where Johnson can present in an open board session “newly discovered facts relevant” to the censures.

Indictment against Johnston County school board member Ronald Johnson by Keung Hui on Scribd