He worked as a railroad conductor and insurance agent before being elected to the State Senate as a Democrat in 1947.

Johns was a member of the "Pork Chop Gang", a group of 20 conservative legislators from North Florida who favored racial segregation and consolidated political power and money in the northern, more rural parts of the state.

In 1954, Johns ran for election to a term as governor in his own right, but was defeated by LeRoy Collins.

[citation needed] One professor, Sigismond Diettrich, chair of the geography department of the University of Florida, attempted suicide after being investigated by the committee.

The state legislature ended funding for the committee in 1964 after it released a report called Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida, which infamously became known as the "Purple Pamphlet".