The Wichita, Kansas, Ethics Board ruled that Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson violated the city’s ethics ordinance after taking part in an altercation with Kansas Rep. Ford Carr at a bar in the capital city of Topeka in early 2025, the Wichita Eagle reports.
The violation correlated to a confrontation between Johnson and Carr at Topeka’s Celtic Fox bar on Jan. 22 during a reception hosted by the city of Wichita, Sedgwick County, and the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. Witnesses claim Carr and Johnson, both Black men, began arguing about how the government responded to a massive groundwater contamination crisis that touched both officials’ districts near 29th and Grove in Wichita.
Several witnesses captured the incident on camera, resulting in it going viral on social media.
Police officer Brad Couch filed a complaint against Johnson, alleging he “used vulgar and racist language, provoked an assault, challenged an elderly man to engage in a physical fight, used offensive language, which disturbed the peace in a public place, and refused to calm down.” “I don’t have a problem beating my elder’s ass,” Johnson allegedly told Carr at one point during the argument.
Couch claimed Johnson violated the ethics ordinance rules requiring city officials to be “dedicated to the ideals of honor and integrity, conduct themselves so as to maintain public confidence, address constituents’ concerns, and work in full cooperation with other officials” with the board agreeing. However, the board ruled that Johnson wouldn’t be fined for the violation due to “the extenuating circumstances of the repeated provocations and physical aggression of Carr.”
“While the Ethics Board understands the emotional reaction Johnson had to Carr’s conduct, it could not overlook that Johnson’s conduct was unbecoming of an elected official.”
According to KAKE ABC, Johnson made a Facebook post stating he fully accepts the Ethics Board’s findings. “I fully accept the Ethics Board’s findings,” he wrote. “Let me be clear: I have never — and will never back down from bullies, especially when I am standing up for what is right and what best serves the people I represent.”
While Carr was not interviewed, the city council member claimed the 59-year-old was the aggressor, standing up in a threatening manner and “in a defensive posture.” Johnson, 39, said Carr “nearly knocked over Wichita Mayor Lily Wu.”
The ruling decided not to punish Carr but reprimanded him after state Rep. Leah Howell filed a complaint accusing him of creating a hostile work environment and displaying a pattern of inappropriate behavior on the House floor.
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