Just hours after five Metro Council members moved to impeach him from office, Metro Councilman Dan Johnson said Thursday that he will take a 90-day medical leave of absence.

Johnson told the Courier-Journal in a direct Twitter message that he was taking the leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. "I am in pain," he said.

It was uncertain Thursday afternoon how his leave would affect the effort to remove him, which comes two months after Councilwoman Jessica Green accused him of grabbing her butt during a group photo at an event.

The federal law protects employees' jobs for them while they are away.

The seven-page complaint calling for Johnson's removal cited several incidents over the past several years involving Johnson, including Green's allegation. Since the Courier-Journal broke news of those allegations, Johnson has repeatedly denied touching Green on purpose.

The complaint — filed by Green, fellow Democrats Brandon Coan and Rick Blackwell and Republicans Robin Engel and Angela Leet — outlines "charges of misconduct, incapacity and willful neglect in the performance of the duties of his office."

"We are here reluctantly," Green said during a press conference Thursday announcing the complaint. "We had hoped to avoid this process, but this is where we are."

Coan said, "Councilman Johnson could stop it right now if he wanted to by resigning."

Johnson had said in a brief telephone interview Thursday that he thinks he has "the votes to stay on, so it doesn’t matter."

He would not disclose the names of his supporters, but he said, “I think I can beat it.”

Background:Dan Johnson quits Democratic caucus, won't give up Metro Council seat

Related:Councilwoman Jessica Green says Dan Johnson laughed about groping her

The complaint covers a litany of controversies surrounding Johnson and says he has a history of misconduct by being "verbally abusive" and leveling personal attacks toward other council members, City Hall staff and the public.

It noted Johnson initially responded to Green's allegations of sexual harassment by saying she was the one who harassed him. The complaint also cites Johnson's legal threats toward Green and legislative aide Erin Hinson, who alleges Johnson exposed his bare butt to her in a parking lot last year.

Johnson said he could not remember that incident but that his pants often fall because his belt doesn't fit and he has a thin waist.

When a female staff member for Greater Louisville Inc., the city's chamber of commerce, alleged Johnson had made inappropriate comments on a business trip he said, "I don't ever remember that. And if that's the case, I'm sorry."

GLI has barred Johnson from all of its events.

The removal charges noted an interview Johnson did with 840 WHAS radio in which he revealed he suffered a serious head injury in 1976. The councilman said the injury "could be the cause of some problems I may have been having recently."

The charging panel says Johnson's inability to recall many of these alleged incidents is a sign of his incapacity to serve.

The complaint mentions other incidents such as the time Johnson alleged former Council President David Tandy threatened to beat him up; writing bad checks to the city to cover the cost of his government-issued cell phone; and being sued on two separate occasions for writing bad checks to pay off personal loans.

It also said Johnson had been charged with theft by deception in Madison County, Kentucky. Online court records show Johnson had two felony theft-by-deception cases in 2015. Both charges were ultimately dismissed.

Asked about those previously unreported criminal charges, Johnson said via Twitter they were "personal, not a council issue."

Under state law, it would take a two-thirds vote of the entire council to remove Johnson, who could appeal the decision in Jefferson Circuit Court.

The charging committee, represented by attorney Deborah Kent, has 30 days to assemble its case. After that, the Metro Council Court, which will act as a jury, will have another 60 days to set a hearing date.

Johnson, who is the longest-serving elected official in Louisville, is only the third council member to face ouster since city and county governments merged in 2003.

In 2011, the late Judy Green, a Democrat, who was Jessica Green's mother, was removed after being hit with a series of ethics violations. Two years later, similar ethics troubles plagued Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, also a Democrat, but the council lacked the necessary votes to remove her from office.

The Johnson removal trial would cost taxpayers. Green's trial cost about $42,780 despite the fact she resigned and declined to put forth a defense, while Shanklin's trial cost the city roughly $173,320, according to the Jefferson County Attorney's Office.

Metro Council Democrats to Dan Johnson:Resign or face removal from office

According to members of the charging committee, however, Johnson would be responsible for paying for his own trial expenses.

Dan Johnson:Council members breaking ethics rules to 'hand pick' my replacement

Reporter Sheldon Shafer contributed to this report. Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.