25-year-old Stephen Woytech, a top campaign staffer for Senator John Husted, cultivated a public playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia.
Posted by Letters from an American, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 68%
Letters from an AmericanSep 13, 2026
Multiple outlets citing The Washington Post report that Stephen Woytek, 25, was Sen. Jon Husted's campaign political director and had added songs to a public Spotify playlist, "Tales from Rhodesia," celebrating the white-minority-ruled former country. The claim's spelling "Woytech" and "John" (the sources say Jon Husted) are minor variants of the same people, and the claim matches the passage's wording.
What was said
… And one of the MAGA Republicans Trump would like to see in Congress, Liz Goodwin of The Washington Post reported yesterday that 25-year-old Stephen Woytech, a top campaign staffer for Senator John Husted, a Republican of Ohio, has recently cultivated a public playlist of songs celebrating the former country of Rhodesia, in which a white minority ruled over a black majority, captioning it, "Homesick for a place that no longer exists." Rhodesia is a rallying cry for white supremacists who deplore the change that created Zimbabwe. …
Letters from an American · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Sources describe Stephen Woytek, 25, as Husted's political director who joined the campaign in August 2026, which fits the claim's "top campaign staffer" description.[1][2][3][4][5]
Supports. Reporting based on Washington Post findings says Woytek added songs to a public Spotify playlist called "Tales from Rhodesia," captioned "homesick for a place that no longer exists," with songs added as recently as the prior month.[3][4][5][6]
Context. The playlist was made private after the Post contacted the campaign, and the campaign said it parted ways with Woytek; Woytek said he rejects Nazi ideology and was participating in historical reenactments.[1][5][7]
Context. The spelling "Woytech" in the claim differs from "Woytek" in every source, and "John Husted" differs from "Jon Husted"; both appear to be the same people, so the claim is graded as referring to them.[1][2][7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 tier 3, 6 not rated
- 1GOP senator's top staffer posted Nazi content — and mourned white supremacist regimerawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: supports, context
- 2Sen. Jon Husted campaign staffer out after Nazi-related social ...nbc4i.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 3Republican Senator to 'Part Ways' With Top Staffer Over ...newsweek.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4GOP Senator Fires Campaign Staffer After WaPo Flags Nazi Profile Photomediaite.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Reports: Husted's campaign 'parts ways' with staffer who reportedly used Nazi soldiers as profile photoyahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6Husted campaign fires yet another problematic staffertribtoday.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Ohio Sen. Jon Husted's campaign fires staffer who posted Nazi photodispatch.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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- The sitting Republican governor of Ohio called on Vivek Ramaswamy to remove his campaign ad from the air.True
- Donald Trump commented on the physique of John Husted.True