Movita Johnson-Harrell

Early life and education Johnson-Harrell was raised in poverty in a family that suffered from generations of substance abuse. She earned an associate's degree in behavioral health in 1999. She also earned a bachelor's degree in applied science in 2002 and a master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.

Career Johnson-Harrell worked as supervisor of victim services for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office. She is the founder of the CHARLES Foundation (Creating Healthy Alternatives Results in Less Emotional Suffering) which was established in 2011 after the mistaken identity shooting death of her 18-year-old son, Charles André Johnson. The CHARLES foundation is focused on improving the lives of young people, their neighborhoods and "common-sense" gun control legislation to reduce violence.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Johnson-Harrell was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 190th district on March 12, 2019 during a special election held after Vanessa Lowery Brown resigned due to her conviction on corruption and bribery charges. She was sworn into office on March 25, 2019. During her swearing in, she made headlines after state Representative Stephanie Borowicz made a Christian prayer that invoked Jesus 13 times, praised Trump, praised Israel, and said, "God forgive us — Jesus — we’ve lost sight of you, we’ve forgotten you, God, in our country, and we’re asking you to forgive us, Jesus." Johnson-Harrel criticized this as "weaponized prayer" and as an example of Islamophobia.

Criminal charges In December 2019, Johnson-Harrell pled guilty to charges of perjury, tampering with public records, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception and contributions of corporations related to her personal use of $500,000 over the course of a decade from a non-profit organization Motivation Education and Consultation Associates. She announced that she would resign from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives due to these charges. In August 2020, Johnson-Harrell was released from prison to begin serving house arrest.