House Speaker Mike Johnson's 'Adopted' Son, 40, Appears in Court on Drug and Weapon Charges
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s “adopted” son appeared in court this week to face drug and weapon charges.
Nov. 3 2023, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s “adopted” son appeared in court this week to face drug and weapon charges, RadarOnline.com can report.
In a shocking development to come after Johnson, 51, was elected House Speaker last week, his 40-year-old “adopted son” – Michael Tirrell James – appeared in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday to face charges connected to an illegal marijuana business and the possession of brass knuckles.
Michael Tirrell James appeared in a LA court on Wednesday to face charges connected to an illegal marijuana business and the possession of brass knuckles.
According to Daily Mail, James spoke out about his relationship with the Johnsons for the first time since the Louisiana GOP House Rep. was elected House Speaker on October 25.
“If the Johnsons hadn’t taken me in as a teenager, my life would look very different today,” he told the outlet while leaving court. “I would probably be in prison or I might not have made it at all.”
James’ drug and weapon charges were “diverted” on Wednesday and will be dropped after 12 months if he completes 20 hours of community service.
But even more shocking was the outlet’s report on James’ lengthy rap sheet that included charges that went as far back as 2003.
"If the Johnsons hadn’t taken me in as a teenager, my life would look very different today."
Most of the charges against Johnson’s “adopted” son related to drugs and other petty crimes, and some of those charges reportedly landed the Baton Rouge native in jail on multiple occasions.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Johnson was scrutinized after it was revealed that he and his wife, Kelly Johnson, “informally adopted” James around the same time that the couple married in May 1999.
The Louisiana congressman-turned-House Speaker reportedly first met James in 1996 while working at a Christina ministry. Johnson was 24 and James was only 13 at the time.
Then, when James became homeless in 1999 at the age of 16, the newly married Johnsons took him in and filed papers to become his legal guardians. It is unclear whether Johnson and his wife were ever officially granted guardianship over James.
House Speaker Johnson and his wife, Kelly, "informally adopted" James in 1999.
“I always felt loved like I was a part of their family,” James told Daily Mail on Wednesday. “They have been there for me when I have been lost and in the deepest valleys, and I know it was hard at times to constantly help someone who didn’t always get it right.”
“I thank God all the time for giving them both the strength, patience, and unwavering faith that inspired me to do better and be better,” he added. “I respect, love, and admire them both.”
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House Speaker Johnson said that James was “one of our own” and considers the 40-year-old – who currently works as a certified nurse assistant and has four children – part of the Johnson family.
“Kelly and I have always seen him as one of our own,” Johnson said. “Despite any mistakes he’s made, we love Michael and are blessed to have him in our family.
House Speaker Johnson said that James was “one of our own” and considers the 40-year-old part of the Johnson family.
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“I have walked with him through discrimination that he has had to endure over the years and the hurdles he sometimes faced,” the newly elected House Speaker continued.
“I know all this because I was with him.”
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