Key facts
- Republican Senator Jon Husted fired his political director, Stephen Woytek.
- Woytek used a photo of Nazi SS soldiers as his Facebook profile picture.
- Woytek followed a military re-enactment group that portrays the 1st SS Panzer division.
- Woytek created a Spotify playlist that hailed the former white-minority regime of Rhodesia.
- Husted stated Woytek's social media activity showed a "complete lack of judgement and disregard for its impact on others."
- Woytek expressed regret and stated he rejects the racist and antisemitic ideology of the SS and Nazi Germany.
Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted has fired his political director, Stephen Woytek, after discovering that Woytek used a photo of Nazi SS soldiers as his Facebook profile picture. Woytek, 25, was appointed to Husted's campaign last month for his re-election contest against former Democrat senator Sherrod Brown.
The Washington Post reported that Husted decided to "part ways" with Woytek upon learning he followed a military re-enactment group called the LAH Living History Unit, which portrays the 1st SS Panzer division. The group's website states its members dress as the Leibstandarte, Waffen-SS armored division that served as Adolf Hitler’s bodyguards, and claims to symbolize "highest dedication to duty and individual as well as collective loyalty." The group asserts it is "non-political" and disavows the persecution that occurred during World War II.
Further scrutiny of Woytek's online activity revealed a Spotify playlist created by an account bearing his name that praised Rhodesia, the former white-minority regime now Zimbabwe, which is considered a symbol of white supremacy by some groups. A spokesperson for Husted told The Post that while Woytek denied negative intent, his social media activity demonstrated a "complete lack of judgement and disregard for its impact on others." The spokesperson added that Husted "demands better of those who represent him" and made the immediate decision to terminate Woytek's employment.
Woytek, who serves in the national guard and is a graduate of the Citadel military academy, issued a statement of regret. He said he wished he had "exercised better judgment when posting about my activities online" and unequivocally rejected the racist and antisemitic ideology of the SS and Nazi Germany. He stated his participation in historical reenactments is for educational purposes to inform younger generations.
LAH shared a Flickr photo from 2018, when Woytek was 16, showing him in an SS uniform marching near Nazi flags. Woytek also follows suppliers of SS uniforms on Facebook. His Quora account showed a 2017 answer about Hitler, mentioning his anti-smoking campaign. The Spotify playlist, titled "Tales from Rhodesia," was captioned "Homesick for a place that no longer exists," and one song contained a slur against African troops. Rhodesia's white minority government declared independence in 1965 and fought against guerrilla groups until 1980, when it transitioned to black majority rule as Zimbabwe. The country has been used by white supremacists as a symbol of white rule superiority.