Sen. Jon Ossoff assailed his Republican rival, Rep. Mike Collins, on Thursday following a report that the congressman’s office had formerly employed a staffer with a history of racist posts online, including Nazi and KKK imagery.
Ossoff, a Democrat running for reelection in Georgia against the embattled Collins, made the comments in a press conference initially meant to focus on an ongoing probe into Collins’ use of taxpayer dollars being conducted by the House Ethics Committee.
That was before The Washington Post published a bombshell report Thursday morning detailing a number of posts made by Preston Parra, a former intern for Collins and a contractor for his leadership PAC. He reportedly posted on X a picture of himself wearing a Klu Klux Klan robe, another of a swastika made up of the word “twink,” and used the phrase “white power” several times.
Ossoff said that hiring Parra was evidence of Collins’ ties to white nationalism and neo-Nazi ideology. He also cited reports about the House member’s son-in-law, who is a pro-white nationalist social media influencer, and his then-chief of staff using his position to help a jailed Holocaust denier.
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“This morning’s news should shock not just the entire state of Georgia but the entire country,” Ossoff said. “Yet more evidence of a sitting congressman’s extensive ties to white nationalism and neo-Nazi ideology. This time, it’s swastikas and the costume of the Ku Klux Klan, unacceptable and disqualifying.”
“It is the year 2026 in the state of Georgia, it’s not 1935, it’s not 1958,” Ossoff added.
In response to Parra’s posts, a Collins spokesperson tried to connect Ossoff to left-wing commentator Hasan Piker. Ossoff is one of the Democrats who has condemned Piker for saying American Jews support for Israel could incite violence.
“Preston Parra has no affiliation with Mike Collins’ office or campaign,” Collins spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said in a statement. “The posts are vile, completely unhinged, and Mike Collins unequivocally condemns them.”
Overhaul PAC paid Parra $7,700 for fundraising consulting in May 2025, according to Federal Election Commission records. In an interview with the Post, Parra said he considered himself a provocateur and not a white supremacist.
Parra has continued to double down on his rhetoric on social media, referring to a reporter with a racial slur.
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