Newly elected State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell, the first Muslim woman elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, has been arrested on corruption charges.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the charges this morning against Johnson-Harrell, who won the 190th District seat in a special election last March. They include theft, perjury and tampering with public records.

Shapiro said Johnson-Harrell has agreed to plead guilty to the charges and will face jail time. She turned herself in to authorities in Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.  Continue Reading

State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell will welcome her constituents to her new district office location during an open house Saturday.

The open house will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 at 550 N. 52nd St.

Johnson-Harrell and her staff will be available to show constituents around the new office location, to answer questions and provide help with state government-related programs.  Continue Reading

Newly-elected State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell will host her first Community Town Hall since being sworn in.

Residents are invited this Thursday, May 30, to Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (5732 Race St.) to have an open discussion on some key topics, including the 2019-20 state budget, reduction of violence and poverty.

“I look forward to engaging my constituents on ways to create a safe and economically viable community throughout my district,” Johnson-Harrell said in a statement. “Before being elected to office, I was on the frontlines of community activism, with a mission to empower my community. Now as a state legislator, still in the forefront of improving my community, I feel like my goals to better my community has been made all the more possible.”

The community town hall is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Democratic nominee Movita Johnson-Harrell easily won Tuesday’s special election for the 190th House District seat.

Johnson-Harrell, who was most recently the head of the victim service unit in the District Attorney’s Office, won with about two-thirds of votes cast. She replaces Vanessa Lowery Brown, who was forced to resign in December after being convicted of bribery charges.

Amen Brown, a Democrat who was running as an independent, finished second, according to reports. Pamela K. Williams, a pastor from West Philly running in the Working Families Party, finished third and Republican Michael Harvey finished fourth.  Continue Reading

A few days after he was handpicked to run for the vacant 190th state District seat, West Philly native Darryl Thomas has withdrawn from the race following a Philadelphia Inquirer article questioning his place of residence and voting record.

Within 48 hours, Movita Johnson-Harrell, who runs the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Victims Services office, was unofficially named the new Democratic nominee for the special election on March 12. She announced the nomination on her social media late Sunday.  Continue Reading