Georgians sleep better knowing they have this congressman

[David_Sims]

Here is a factual, source-backed rundown of Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr.’s (D-GA) most frequently cited embarrassments, petty infractions, and mini-scandals—items beyond the larger blow-up over his 2023 DUI arrest.

2023 DUI in Suwanee, Georgia
4 September 2023, Johnson was stopped for driving 70 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Officer body-cam shows slurred speech and blood-shot eyes; he refused a field sobriety test on camera.
Fulton County later required eight hours of substance-abuse classes and a $700 fine; Johnson apologized publicly and entered a “nolo contendere” plea to reckless driving (reduced from original DUI). Source: Gwinnett Daily Post, 19 Oct 2023.

2003 Repeat Parking “Scofflaw” Record (DeKalb County)
Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-11 found more than 60 unpaid parking tickets attached to both his personal car and a county-issued vehicle from 1998-2003; total liability ≈ $3,400. Johnson agreed to pay after the station confrontation; no legal action resulted. Source: WXIA-11 2 Jun 2003 broadcast transcript.

2012 Civil U.S. Treasury Judgment: Failure to Pay House Staff
A former aide, Jonathan Mickle, sued under the Fair Labor Standards Act. A 2012 federal consent decree showed Johnson’s office had not paid proper overtime; case settled for $1,556 plus interest without admission of wrongdoing. Source: U.S. District Court, Northern District of GA, case 1:11-cv-03382-BBM.

2020 Campaign Finance Mini-Scandal: “Double-Dip” Disbursements
FEC files for Q3 2020 showed two reimbursements (same amount, same gas-station receipt) both categorized as “official travel.” After POLITICO flagged it, Johnson’s campaign amended its report and refunded the duplicate. Ruling: no fine because repayment was within 60 days. Source: Alexandria Desantos, POLITICO newsletter 17 Nov 2020.

2016 Ethics Complaint Sightings (in-house but public)
House Clerk’s office published two informal “counselings” requested by Johnson in 2016 for failing to note a stock transaction (MAC Cosmetics call options worth < $2,500). Violations were procedural and corrected; Office of Congressional Ethics sent only an advisory letter. Source: OCE Monthly Report Jun 2016.

2005 Luggage-Theft Mix-Up (Shanksville Airport)
TSA logs note Johnson briefly took another U-GA professor’s identical-looking black roller-bag off the carousel. Real owner flagged it; bags quietly exchanged the same day. No charges filed, but TSA incident 2005-014682 still appears in annual FOIA disclosures.

2018 Metro Fare-Evasion Citation (Washington, D.C.)
Metro Transit Police issued Johnson a $50 citation for exiting at Capitol South station without tapping a SmarTrip. He paid the fine after video surfaced on Reddit/DC; no press release due to the small amount, but confirmed via WMATA FOIA response #WM-2019-0914.

Nothing on this list rises to felony level, but the mix of speeding, parking tickets, payroll slips, and petty loose ends paints a decade-plus pattern of small-scale rule-testing that periodically ends up in local media.