A Republican lawmaker, nicknamed 'The Pope,' who was facing allegations that he sexually assaulted his daughter's friend at a New Year's Eve party shot himself dead on a Kentucky bridge.

Father-of-five and pastor Dan Johnson, 57, who made headlines for posting racist pictures likening the Obamas to monkeys and once claimed he had run a morgue at Ground Zero, wrote an emotional, Facebook post just hours before killing himself.

Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings said Johnson died of a single gunshot wound on Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, Kentucky.

Billings said Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area, then got out and walked to the front of the car. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.

'I would say it is probably suicide,' he said.

Authorities found Johnson after tracking his phone down following concern over his almost 200-word Facebook post.

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Authorities confirmed that Kentucky lawmaker Rep. Dan Johnson, 57, committed suicide following reports that he allegedly sexually assaulted 21-year-old Maranda Richmond, who was 17 at the time of the alleged incident

Prior to his death, Johnson posted this message to his Facebook account

Authorities confirmed that Johnson was found with a single gunshot wound to the head in Mount Washington, Kentucky. They tracked down his location pinging his cellphone

Johnson, pictured with President Donald Trump in an undated photo, was a pastor who went by the nickname 'Pope'

On Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an account from Maranda Richmond, who was 17 at the time, saying Johnson sexually assaulted her in the basement of his home on New Year's Eve 2012.

According to court documents, Richmond was living at Heart of Fire City Church accommodations.

She alleged that Johnson had kissed her and fondled her underneath her clothes while he was a pastor.

Louisville police investigated the matter but closed the case and did not file charges.

Johnson told reporters Tuesday the accusations were 'totally false.'

Johnson, pictured with his wife of 30 years, Rebecca. Johnson denied Richmond's claims

On Wednesday, at about 5pm, Johnson posted a Facebook message in which he again denied the allegations levied against him and noted that PTSD 'is a sickness that will take my life, I cannot handle it any longer.'

'The accusations from NPR are false GOD and only GOD knows the truth, nothing is the way they make it out to be. AMERICA will not survive this type of judge and jury fake news,' Johnson wrote in the Facebook message, which has since been removed.

The post continued: 'Conservatives take a stand. I LOVE GOD and I LOVE MY WIFE, who is the best WIFE in the world,My Love Forever !

'My Mom and Dad my FAMILY and all five of my kids and Nine grandchildren two in tummies and many more to come each of you or a total gift from GOD stay strong, REBECCA needs YOU.

In addition to a picture with Trump, Johnson posted pictures of himself posing with former US presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton

Jesse Jackson, seen in an undated photo, is among the celebrity figures Johnson has met

'9-11-2001 NYC/WTC, PTSD 24/7 16 years is a sickness that will take my life, I cannot handle it any longer. IT Has Won This Life . BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME. 'PLEASE LISTEN CLOSELY, Only Three things I ask of you to do,if you love me is (1)blame no person,Satan is the accuser, so blame the Devil himself. (2) Forgive and Love everyone especially yourself .(3)most importantly LOVE GOD. P.S. I LOVE MY FRIENDS YOU ARE FAMILY ! GOD LOVES ALL PEOPLE NO MATTER WHAT !'

Johnson and wife, Rebecca, have been married for 30 years.

Johnson was elected to the state legislature in 2016, unseating the incumbent Democrat during the wave of Republican victories that gave the GOP control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in nearly 100 years.

He had met presidents Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush.

Johnson, best known for posting pictures of then-President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama comparing them to monkeys while he ran for office in 2016, denied the claims and refused to resign from his position on Tuesday, he said while speaking at his church.

Richmond claims that she had fallen asleep on the couch in Johnson's basement after attending his family's New Year's Eve party when the alleged molestation took place.

Police investigated Richmond's claims in 2013, but eventually dropped the investigation without charging Johnson. Detectives said that she stopped cooperating with the case

Johnson's church is known for its 'gun choir,' which features Johnson (believed to be pictured with sons) and others holding guns while singing Amazing Grace

'If the police or anyone involved had thought that this was a real case, don't you think they would have pursued that?' Johnson said. 'There is no way they would have let up if they thought there was something to it.'

He also claimed more than once that he ran a morgue at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terror attacks and watched the second plane crash into the World Trade Center.

Despite his claims, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found little evidence that he was there.

No one from the medical examiner's office remembered Johnson at the scene.

Richmond, now 21, had revealed details about what she said happened on New Year's Eve in 2012 when she had fallen asleep on a couch in Johnson's basement after attending the family's New Year's Eve party.

At about midnight, she said, she woke up to find Johnson standing over her. She said that he groped her and stuck his tongue in her mouth, then put his hand down her pants and slipped it inside her vagina.

She said she begged him to stop, but Johnson kept telling her she would like it. Eventually, he left and she slipped away early that morning before he woke up.

Richmond (pictured with her father Clifford) and her parents attended Johnson's church

Police records show that she reported the incident to police. As part of the investigation, the Louisville Metro Police Department apparently recorded a phone call between Johnson and Richmond's father, Clifford, in which Johnson said he 'couldn't imagine doing that to Maranda.'

Police documents obtained by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting show a detective closed the case because Richmond would not cooperate.

Richmond denied this, saying she never once wanted to stop the investigation.

In the days leading to his suicide, both the Republican and Democratic leaders of the state House of Representatives called for Johnson to resign.

Johnson is listed as the bishop of Heart of Fire Church in Louisville. The church is known for its 'gun choir,' which features Johnson and others holding guns while singing Amazing Grace.

Michael Skoler, president of Louisville Public Media, which owns the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, said everyone at the organization is 'deeply sad.'

Motorcycle fan Johnson, with his wife, Rebecca, called himself 'The Pope' and was the pastor of the Heart of Fire City Church in Kentucky

Johnson (believed to be pictured here with four of his children), has five children with his wife Rebecca in black jacket) and seven grandchildren, with two more on the way

Maranda Richmond, a friend of Johnson's daughter, claimed that Johnson (right) had sexually assaulted her on New Year's Eve 2012, when she was 17 years old. She had fallen asleep on a couch in his basement prior to the alleged incident.

'Our aim, as always, is to provide the public with fact-based, unbiased reporting and hold public officials accountable for their actions,' Skoler said. 'As part of our process, we reached out to Representative Johnson numerous times over the course of a seven-month investigation. He declined requests to talk about our findings.'

The sexual assault accusations against Johnson were revealed as a sexual harassment scandal involving four other Republican lawmakers was unfolding at the state Capitol.

Former Republican House Speaker Jeff Hoover resigned his leadership position after acknowledging he secretly settled a sexual harassment claim with a member of his staff.

Three other lawmakers were involved in the settlement, and all lost their committee chairmanships.

'I am very sad over the passing of Rep. Dan Johnson. Over the past few weeks in some of the darkest days of my life, he reached out to me, encouraged me, and prayed for me,' Hoover posted on his Twitter account Wednesday night.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin posted on his Twitter account that 'my heart breaks for his family tonight.'

'These are heavy days in Frankfort and in America,' Bevin posted. 'May God indeed shed His grace on us all. ... We sure need it.'