LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. — Earlier this week, a federal judge dismissed a $1 billion lawsuit filed by Kendrick Johnson’s family. Less than 24 hours later, his parents filed a civil rights complaint against the federal court seeking $10 billion.
In January 2013, Johnson was found dead in a rolled-up wrestling mat at Lowndes County High School. Investigators ruled his death an accident.
For more than 13 years, Johnson’s family has maintained the belief that he was killed.
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Jacquelyn and Kenneth Johnson filed a lawsuit in 2023 alleging a “conspiracy to violate their civil rights,” saying public records were kept from them. After the lawsuit was dismissed, a Georgia appeals court ruled in 2025 that it should be reviewed again.
On Monday, Judge Sarah Geraghty dismissed the case.
“The Court again expresses its concern about the inconsistencies between the various official reports on KJ’s death and Plaintiffs’ allegations. However, after careful consideration, the undersigned concludes that Plaintiffs’ claims cannot proceed,” Geraghty wrote in the dismissal.
In response, his parents have filed a new lawsuit against the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and federal judges Leigh Martin May and Sarah Geraghty.
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They say the Court has denied them their constitutional right to due process, as well as conspired to cover up their son’s murder.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and $10 billion with 10% interest.
“If the message is not clear enough, let me make it clear as crystal right now,” Kenneth Johnson said in a statement. “Anyone, regardless of who you are, what position of power and influence you may hold, if you choose to join the murder cover-up scandal of my son, Kendrick, you do so at your own peril!”
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