After years of accusations that have piled up against the owner of a popular Phoenix bookstore, a group of women are calling for accountability.
Aaron Johnson founded Lawn Gnome Publishing in 2004 and opened a storefront near Fifth and Roosevelt streets with Kickstarter funds in 2012.
With its zines, books, concerts, storytelling open mics and poetry slams, the bright red bookstore and venue felt like a beacon for downtown Phoenix's most artsy. In the years before Roosevelt Row exploded as a social destination, its busiest times were First Fridays, when college students and other young people would pop in to peruse books and meet other creatives. Lawn Gnome Publishing's annual New Year's Eve party, called Flannel Ball, was a hot spot for downtown hipsters.
Around 2016, rumors began emerging of inappropriate behavior by Johnson, gaining traction through 2021, when a number of events and marches named his alleged misconduct. The Arizona Republic spoke with four women who said Johnson began making sexual advances on them when they were either his employee or mentee. Three of the women said they were between the ages of 17 and 19 when the alleged conduct started.
Three of the women said they dated Johnson while he was their boss or mentor, and two of them said they kept their relationships a secret at his insistence. All of the women now say they view his behavior as inappropriate and predatory and that they regret their experiences with him.
The Republic spoke with a handful of former colleagues who supported their statements.
Johnson, in an April interview with The Republic, acknowledged dating younger women in the past but said he would not make the same choice now. He denied ever dating current employees and said there was only one case in which he dated a former employee after they left Lawn Gnome Publishing.
Still, he said, "there's no debating that people are emotionally hurt."
"I can say that I've been a womanizer and for that I'm terribly sorry," he said. "I'm sorry that we didn't work out our mess and allow for healing to happen before I dated a friend or met someone else in the neighborhood that you know of, and that's horribly messy. It's emotional, it causes divisions with friendships and communities. I get it. It's horrible, and I'm totally, 100% sorry for that."
The first public claims of inappropriate behavior came around 2016. An anonymous zine published that year included accusations of misconduct against Johnson, though he was not identified by name.
Johnson told The Republic that screenshots he has seen of messages that appear to be from either his personal or business social media accounts, some of which were included in the zine, have been "taken out of context completely, or they were completely fabricated, and there's a few I've seen that are straight up not even me at all."
Johnson was also mentioned in an anonymous Google document detailing allegations against various people in communities around Arizona. The 12-page document includes lengthy introductions and summaries of alleged misconduct of those people, including a section about Johnson.
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"This list was made out of a desperate need to tell these people's stories, in communities that should be protecting their most vulnerable," the document reads.
Tempe Municipal Court records show a complaint was filed against Johnson on suspicion of assaulting a woman in 2017.
The woman, who spoke to The Republic but did not want to be identified publicly, said they met at a bar in 2016 and later dated. She said they got into an argument in November 2017 and that Johnson physically assaulted her.
The woman said she declined to press charges. Online court records show the case was dropped in 2018.
Johnson acknowledged that an incident took place in November 2017 but denied touching or harming anyone, adding that going through the subsequent court case was "one of the worst experiences of my life."
Johnson, who also goes by Aaron Johnson-Hopkins, started a GoFundMe in May 2020 to support the business in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing at the time that he was living in the back of the bookstore "in order to make it work." He received more than $5,000 in donations.
Shortly after he drew money and attention through his GoFundMe, whisper networks again started circulating allegations that Johnson harassed a teenage employee. A group held a protest against the business in July 2021, as reported by the Downtown Devil.
At the same time, an Instagram account named @buttgnome began sharing anonymous allegations and calling for people to come together against Johnson and his business.
In early July, Lawn Gnome Publishing released a since-deleted statement saying the business was "aware of allegations that have come to light in the last few days regarding labor disputes, publishing practices, and behavior," according to screenshots obtained by The Republic.
The business said it was working with a third-party accountability mediator to collect complaints and included a link that it said would be live on July 6. "We understand that listening to voices that have been harmed is especially crucial during these times of unrest and uncertainty," the post said.
It went on to say that it "cannot and will not tolerate online bullying or harassment" and would be issuing cease and desist letters to people creating and distributing materials that "have caused damages to our business, our employees, and to our vending partners through the dissemination of false and misleading information."
The link was not active as of July 8, according to the Downtown Devil. The @buttgnome account claimed it was never made available in an August 2021 post.
Johnson told The Republic that the link was available for about a week. He estimated that 30 complaints were filed but said that none, in his view, were valid.
No cease and desist letters were actually issued, he said.
A November event held by Phoenix Deserves Better, an organization formed to support survivors of abuse, included descriptions of alleged inappropriate behavior by Johnson. The event ended with a march to Lawn Gnome Publishing.
As allegations have mounted, Johnson has for the most part ignored bad online reviews, rumors and protests against him. Johnson told The Republic that since July, he's stayed quiet on social media, has not hired additional employees and has not hosted public events.
Johnson said he changed the name of his business to Roosevelt Books and Beans around the same time, noting the new name is better for search engine optimization. He told The Republic it was always his intent to move away from the name "Lawn Gnome Publishing," which he said he came up with on a whim.
Matt Storrs, 35, started co-hosting a variety show called "Pep Rally" at Lawn Gnome Publishing in late 2014.
The weekly event was "pretty popular," Storrs said, adding that many were drawn to the "really fun and exciting" venue.
"I think it was a nice intersection of various creative folks in Phoenix — storytellers, comedians, artists, musicians, poets," he said. "It was a one-stop shop in a lot of ways of 'I want to be connected to the Phoenix arts scene, this is a good place to start.'"
As time went on, Storrs started hearing rumors, echoed by several other individuals whom The Republic interviewed, that Lawn Gnome Publishing employees weren't being paid consistently. He said it made him and others feel "uncomfortable" performing there, and the show ended in early 2016.
At that point, Storrs caught wind of further allegations about inappropriate behavior but said it's only been within the last year or so that the allegations gained significant momentum. He published a statement on his Instagram page in August 2021 saying he regretted not speaking out sooner but that he felt he has the ability to "better support and bring attention to the victims' stories."
"That might not be as helpful as something I could've done back then, but hopefully it helps a little bit now," he told The Republic.
Hannah Whitney moved to central Phoenix in early 2021. When she arrived, the then-17-year-old walked down Roosevelt Street and left her application at any businesses needing help.
That's how Whitney came across Lawn Gnome Publishing, where she was hired shortly after meeting Johnson.
"I think most women, almost all women, can say they've experienced having weird interactions with male figures in the workplace," Whitney said. "I've had a few that were flirty, but not anything as bad as Lawn Gnome."
Whitney said Johnson started making general sexual comments early on, and appeared to be interested in knowing when she would be turning 18. After asking when her birthday was soon after she started working, he repeatedly mentioned the impending date, she said.
Whitney said Johnson made her feel like a "brilliant kid," but after a few weeks she started feeling uncomfortable with the advances. She was hesitant to attend the poetry slam and open mic night at Lawn Gnome Publishing, but said she feared it would make things "awkward" and lead to repercussions if she didn't attend.
Whitney said there were some instances where he said he wanted to or did touch her, which were detailed in a petition for an injunction against harassment filed against Johnson in Phoenix Municipal Court in July 2021.
The court said in an email to The Republic that there were "no records that the Court can disclose" in relation to its request to independently obtain the petition.
According to a copy obtained by The Republic, Whitney wrote that Johnson in March 2021 attempted to put his hand in her mouth to feel a lump in her jaw, which she said she refused. He also put his hand on her shoulder a week later, Whitney wrote.
In April 2021, Whitney wrote that Johnson played a movie during her shift that included explicit drug use. They got about halfway through the movie and Johnson told her to watch the rest at home. When she did, she saw pornographic scenes that made her feel "in shock and embarrassed," according to the petition.
The petition also described an incident in which Whitney said Johnson hugged her "really aggressively" and that she had to physically push him off in order to leave.
When asked about the petition, Johnson said he was not aware of it and had not been served any court paperwork related to the complaint. Whitney said the petition was filed but not served.
Whitney eventually came across other young women formerly associated with Johnson who described "exactly what I was going through."
"At that point, I couldn't just tell myself I was special," she said. "It was like, 'OK, this is a thing that he does to women in our community and it's been going on for a really long time.'"
Whitney stopped working at Lawn Gnome Publishing by early May 2021 and wrote a blog about her experience, which did not name Johnson, in late June.
That was followed by a protest in early July called "Protect Your Daughters at Roosevelt Row," in which Whitney and several other people handed out flyers and zines to spread awareness.
The Republic spoke to three women who said they dated Johnson while he was in a position of power over them. Johnson denied having inappropriate relationships with people he employed or mentored.
Kelcie Grega said she was an 18-year-old college freshman when she met Johnson in fall 2013. She started working at Lawn Gnome Publishing in spring 2014, and said Johnson, then in his early 30s, eventually started making flirtatious comments and initiating conversations about her sex life.
Grega was an intern at The Republic in 2015 and 2016, which coincided with her time at the bookstore. She said she quit after about two years of working at Lawn Gnome Publishing in 2016, but later returned to offer her help.
Grega said she was feeling isolated from the local arts community at the time and viewed Lawn Gnome Publishing as "my only gateway back."
She said Johnson made her feel "really validated and valued," and that they started dating in April of that year. The pair had a short-lived but "intense" romance through July.
Grega said she now realizes it was a "really inappropriate" situation that has happened numerous times.
That includes Lauren Kelley, who wanted to be a part of the Phoenix arts scene when she moved to the city as an 18-year-old in 2014. She said she was hired at Lawn Gnome Publishing after meeting Johnson at a poetry slam.
Kelley said she and Johnson, then 33, began a relationship and moved in together in September 2015. Kelley continued to be an employee, and said she had to keep the relationship a secret at Johnson's request.
Screenshots obtained by The Republic included a message that appeared to be sent from Johnson's Facebook account that said he would "be honored to share with the world our relationship if given the chance."
They eventually split in 2016 and Kelley later realized that other women had had similar experiences with Johnson, which she said was "horrifying."
"I feel like it's been so many years and the women, the people he hurts, they just keep adding up and I just can't take it anymore," said Kelley, now 26. "Somebody's gotta say something. I feel like I've been screaming from the rooftop what he's done and he's still doing it."
Daphney Quinn said she met Johnson, then 37, at a poetry slam the week of her 22nd birthday in August 2019.
I feel like it's been so many years and the women, the people he hurts, they just keep adding up and I just can't take it anymore. Somebody's gotta say something. I feel like I've been screaming from the rooftop what he's done and he's still doing it.
She started performing at the slam and was invited to be part of a group that met afterward to write and workshop ideas together. The group "trended a little younger," but was composed of various ages, races and genders, Quinn said.
She said those in the group "looked up to him as a leader," and that he served as a mentor to them.
Quinn said she was "so smitten by our dynamic," and that they quickly became friends before starting a romantic relationship in September 2019.
She said Johnson expressed that he'd "never dated younger girls before" and that it was "very unique to me."
It was a "fairly mutual" decision to split by the end of that year, Quinn said, though she provided screenshots showing that she continued to receive flirtatious messages from Lawn Gnome Publishing's Instagram account.
Quinn largely ignored the messages and they eventually stopped coming by summer 2021.
Johnson said he wants women to freely tell their stories but characterized the ongoing claims against him as "malicious" and "outright false."
Johnson said his business has been devalued in light of the public allegations, but said there is potential for it to be bought at some point in the future.
He said he wanted Lawn Gnome Publishing to serve as a "springboard" for his employees' careers, and regrets that people have been hurt.
"I want everyone to be able to heal and move on, especially people I've dated, people that have been a part of my life that are upset at me," he said. "I understand that, I can relate to that, that's real."
In late April, Johnson wrote in an email to The Republic that it "looks like the bookstore and coffee shop will be closing soon" and that he would be focusing on web commerce and publishing. He did not specify when the closure could happen.
Quinn said she's "super proud" of those in the arts community who have broken ties with people accused of inappropriate behavior, and added that more people should have a "dedication to not tolerating that kind of s---."
"I do believe in second chances and rehabilitation, but it sounds like he's been given a lot of chances by a lot of people and he hasn't been honest about it to anyone," she said.
Though Grega said she feels "powerless and heartbroken" to see how many people have had similar experiences, she added that she and others have formed a community with the aim of preventing future harm.
Ultimately, Grega said the group wants to see more people in the arts scene take a stand against misconduct and stop working with or patronizing Lawn Gnome Publishing.
"There's always this new circle of young people coming in who aren't privy to the past and I think that's why he keeps getting away with it," she said.
Reach the reporter at bfrank@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank.
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Owner of popular Phoenix bookstore accused of inappropriate behavior - The Arizona Republic
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