Minnesota candidate's staffer quits over Hitler, antisemitic posts: 'Curdles my stomach'

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Republican congressional campaign is dealing with fallout after one of its top paid staffers was found to have posted pro-Hitler content and other hateful language on social media.

Eric Pratt staffer resigns

What we know:

Austin Brown, the field director for Eric Pratt's congressional campaign, resigned after opponents uncovered a series of deeply troubling social media posts — including one praising Hitler, posted about a month before Brown joined the campaign.

Brown was one of only two paid staffers on Pratt's campaign. His posts, made on the app formerly known as Twitter, included content using gay slurs, embracing white Christian nationalism, and pushing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories — including one about Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, who was later attacked at a state fair.

One post read: "You hate Trump because you think he's Hitler. I hate Trump because he's not Hitler."

Pratt's campaign released a statement in response. 

"I have always been clear that antisemitism, racism, and discrimination of any kind have no place in our politics or our communities. I have accepted the resignation of the staffer in question and look forward to continuing to communicate our campaign's message to the residents of the 2nd District over the next two months," the statement said.

What they're saying:

Pratt's DFL opponent, Matt Little, found the posts — and it didn't take long.

"I honestly thought it was unreal," said Little.

‘It curdles my stomach’

The other side:

He said it took him about 30 seconds to find a lot of problematic comments, and added that his own campaign does thorough vetting of staff. "From our finance director, our field director, all the top positions, we do a full background check," Little said.

Jewish Minnesota legislative candidate Brian Cohen said the kind of language Brown used has real consequences.

"It curdles my stomach that people will have that kind of anger and hatred," said Cohen, adding that language like Brown's fans the flames of antisemitism and can sometimes lead to violence.

What we don't know:

The Pratt campaign has not answered questions about when they first learned about Brown's posts or whether they conduct background checks on paid staffers at all. The campaign also did not respond to questions about whether Brown presented himself differently in person than he did on social media.

FOX9 was unable to reach Brown directly. But as the news developed, Brown's Twitter account went private, and he liked a Facebook post in which Little called on Pratt to fire him.

The Source: FOX 9's Corin Hoggard reported live from St. Paul.