A Historical Overview of the Johns Committee

Charley Eugene Johns was the acting governor of Florida from September 1953 to January 1955 and served in the Florida State Senate from 1947 to 1966. He was known as a conservative Democrat who supported racial segregation.

In 1956, the Florida Legislature created the Florida Legislative Investigations Committee, which was chaired by Senator Johns and became known as the Johns Committee. The Committee’s mandate was to “investigate all organizations whose principles or activities include a course of conduct on the part of any person or group which would constitute violence, or a violation of the laws of the state, or would be inimical to the well being and orderly pursuit of their personal and business activities by the majority of the citizens in the state.” It was also authorized to subpoena witnesses, take testimony, and employ experts as needed.

The Johns Committee was active from 1956-1964. The activities of the Committee were similar to the hearings conducted in the U.S. Congress by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s that investigated hundreds of American citizens for suspected communist activities. The Johns Committee held hearings on campuses, conducted interviews, forced administrators to turn over documents to the committee, and was suspected of wire tapping individuals under the pretense of protecting Florida’s children. Professors and student activists at Florida State University, University of South Florida, University of Florida, and Florida A & M University were investigated for suspected communist and homosexual activity as well as for supporting desegregation. Deans, professors, and teachers throughout Florida were dismissed or forced to resign from their positions. The Committee’s activities and findings were considered very controversial. In 1966, the Johns Committee was disbanded.

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