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 lawsuit in federal court, seeking $10 billion in damages.
In January 2013, Johnson was found dead on 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 believed he was murdered.
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Jacqueline and Kenneth Johnson filed the lawsuit in 2023, alleging a “conspiracy to violate their civil rights” and saying public records were kept secret from them. After the lawsuit was dismissed, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in 2025 that it should be reviewed again.
Judge Sarah Geraghty dismissed the case on Monday.
“The Court again expresses concern at the inconsistencies between the various official reports regarding KJ’s death and Plaintiff’s allegations. However, upon careful consideration, the undersigned concludes that Plaintiff’s claims cannot proceed,” Geraghty wrote in the dismissal.
In response, his parents 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 courts denied them their constitutional rights to due process and conspired to cover up their son’s murder.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages of $10 billion plus 10 percent interest.
“If the message isn’t clear enough, let me make it clear now,” Johnson said in a statement. “Anyone, no matter who you are, no matter what power and influence you have, if you choose to join the scandal of my son Kendrick’s murder cover-up, you do so at your own risk!”
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