Husted ousts his political director over posts with Nazi imagery

Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) fired his campaign’s political director, Stephen Woytek, on Friday after learning about social media posts linked to Woytek, including a Facebook profile photo of Nazi officers and a public playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia, a now-defunct nation often venerated by white supremacists.

A spokesperson for Husted’s campaign told The Hill that Woytek, who joined the campaign in August, had “denied negative intent” but said the senator had quickly opted to fire him after learning of the posts Friday.

“Steve serves our country honorably as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is a proud graduate of The Citadel. He studies military history and routinely reenacts historical battles. While he denies negative intent, his social media activity displays a complete lack of judgement and disregard for its impact on others,” the spokesperson said. “Sen. Husted demands better of those who represent him. Upon learning about the social media posts today, Sen. Husted made the immediate decision to part ways.”

Woytek’s social media history included links to a military reenactment group whose members dress up as Nazi officers. There are public photos of Woytek in that attire with the group from 2018, when he would have been 16 years old, according to The Washington Post, which was the first to report on Woytek’s posts and departure.

An account bearing his name also recently created a playlist on Spotify of songs celebrating Rhodesia, a former British colony in Africa where a white minority ruled over the African population. Some white supremacists have praised Rhodesia and expressed affinity with it, the Post reported.

Woytek, in a statement to the Post, said he should have “exercised better judgment when posting about my activities online” and did not want to distract from Husted’s race.

“I want to be unequivocal: I reject the racist and antisemitic ideology the SS and Nazi Germany represented. I believe it is important to educate our younger generations, which is why I participate in historical reenactments,” he said.

Husted, who is locked in a tight race against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), is the second Republican Senate candidate in recent months to let go of a staffer over their social media history. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) replaced chief of staff Kip Talley in July, following reporting by Slate that Talley had been in a group chat with white supremacists and antisemites Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer.

Another former staffer for Collins had images on his social media of a swastika and himself in Ku Klux Klan robes, according to the Post.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6085514-husted-political-director-nazi-imagery/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5902900&forum_id=2ГѓЖ’#50130794)