Collins’ fired his longtime advisor and former chief of staff, Brandon Phillips, after Phillips mocked his political opponent’s wife’s alleged sexual assault from Collins’ campaign account. Phillips’ replacement advocated for a notorious Holocaust denier and racist’s release from prison in a group chat with prominent white supremacists, including Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer. Collins previously employed Senator Rand Paul’s son despite the junior Paul’s documented alcohol abuse and assault allegations. Collins’ previous intern and campaign staffer—Preston Parra—was a proud white supremacist who wanted a “harem of twink concubines;” Collins was on the record in Parra’s defense. The same former staffer—Preston Parra—advocated for Collins' Senate campaign while he posted Nazi and KKK imagery online.
Daily Beast: MAGA Rep Sparks Outrage With Crude Rape Joke [Daily Beast, 5/23/26]
Mike Collins War Room Replied To A Tweet From Luke Thompson, An Dooley PAC Advisor, Saying “Matt Laurer’s Sloppy Seconds Chiming In To Take An L.” According to Punchbowl News, “What happened. On Friday afternoon, GOP strategist Luke Thompson quote-tweeted a poll on X that showed Collins leading Dooley 46% to 41% in the runoff. ‘48 hours later and the Collins lead has cut in half. Dooley beats Ossoff. Collins can’t. Not hard to understand,’ Thompson posted. Thompson is an adviser for a pro-Dooley PAC. Mike Collins War Room, an official Collins campaign account, replied to Thompson: ‘Matt Laurer’s sloppy seconds chiming in to take an L.’ The offensive post has since been removed.” [Punchbowl News, 5/25/26]
Collins Fired Brandon Phillips, His Longtime Advisor And Former Chief Of Staff, Over The Controversy. According to Punchbowl News, “Collins fired Brandon Phillips, his longtime staffer and former chief of staff, over the controversy. Phillips is the subject of an unrelated probe by the House Ethics Committee. ‘Earlier today, a campaign advisor sent out a despicable and unauthorized twitter comment using a Team Collins campaign account,’ Collins said in a statement. ‘I want to apologize for this offensive tweet. I have made staffing changes to ensure this type of behavior never happens again.’” [Punchbowl News, 5/25/26]
Collins Posted That The Statement Was Made Without His Knowledge And That He Apologized For The Offensive Tweet. According to the Hill, “‘The statement was made without my knowledge or approval and in no way represents or reflects my values or the values of this campaign,’ Collins wrote on X. ‘I want to apologize for this offensive tweet. I have made staffing changes to ensure this type of behavior never happens again.’” [Hill, 5/22/26]
Collins’ Chief Of Staff, Kip Talley, Was In A Group Chat That Contained Prominent White Nationalists, Such As Nick Fuentes And Richard Spencer. According to the Slate, “Kip Talley, Collins’ current chief of staff, detailed his efforts in a group chat that included prominent white nationalists, among them Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer. Slate has reviewed the chats.” [Slate, 5/28/26]
In The Group Chat, Talley Detailed How He Intervened On Charles Johnson’s Behalf To Free Him From Prison. According to Slate, “The chief of staff for Rep. Mike Collins, the front-runner to be Republicans’ Senate nominee in Georgia, said he used his congressional position to attempt to free a Holocaust denier from prison. Kip Talley, Collins’ current chief of staff, detailed his efforts in a group chat that included prominent white nationalists, among them Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer. Slate has reviewed the chats. Talley actively intervened on behalf of Charles Johnson—a notorious internet troll, Holocaust denier, and racist—while Johnson was incarcerated from November 2025 to February 2026, according to messages Talley sent to the group chat in December 2025. (Talley was, at that point, Collins’ deputy chief of staff, before being promoted to chief of staff in January.)” [Slate, 5/28/26]
Talley Claimed In the Group Chat That He Was Going To “Use The Levers Of The Legislative Branch To Check Into His Detention.” According to Slate, “Talley told the group chat: ‘I’m going to try and use the levers of the legislative branch to check into his detention.’ In the chat, Talley claimed he was exercising ‘oversight’ in repeatedly checking with officials at the jail and the U.S. Marshals Service on Johnson’s behalf, scheduling a phone call with Johnson, as well as making sure there was money provided on his behalf in the prison commissary.” [Slate, 5/28/26]
Talley Claimed That He Was Reaching Out To People In The FBI And DOJ To Get Johnson Out. According to Slate, “Talley also said that he had been in contact with federal law enforcement agencies on Johnson’s behalf. ‘I’m reaching out to my people at FBI and DOJ. Trying to get him out,’ he texted the group.” [Slate, 5/28/26]
Talley Claimed That He “Acted Soley” In His Personal Capacity. According to Slate, “In a statement to Slate, Talley said: ‘I acted solely in my personal capacity after hearing concerns that an acquaintance I have known for years was being mistreated in custody and denied basic medical care. I was simply trying to help a suffering inmate connect with counsel. I did not act at the direction of Rep. Collins, use official resources, or coordinate with anyone else in the group chat.’” [Slate, 5/28/26]
Collins’ Office Declined To Comment. According to Slate, “Collins’ office declined to comment on the record.” [Slate, 5/28/26]
Senator Rand Paul’s Adult Son—Who Recently Berated Representative Mike Lawler With Antisemitic And Homophobic Comments Pertaining To The Iran War—Previously Worked As Collins’ Digital Director; Paul Had A Drunk Driving Conviction And Had Been Arrested For Drunkenly Assaulting A Female Flight Attendant At The Time He Served In Collins’ Office. According to the New York Post, “The adult son of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) launched a vile antisemitic and homophobic tirade at Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a DC bar Tuesday night, saying at one point that the Iran war was ‘about the gays and the Jews, and I hate them both, and I don’t care if they die.’ [...] The senator’s son previously pleaded guilty in 2015 to driving under the influence after smashing his Honda truck into a parked car and being found ‘belligerent’ and with ‘a strong odor of alcohol,’ per the Lexington Herald-Leader. Two years before, Paul got arrested for allegedly assaulting a 22-year-old female flight attendant on a plane headed for Charlotte, NC. Authorities charged him after he landed with consuming beer or wine underage and disorderly conduct. The 33-year-old worked as a digital director for Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) from January to June 2025. Before that, he served in West Virginia GOP Rep. Alex Mooney’s office from August 2024 to January 2025.” [New York Post, 5/13/26]
Parra Interned For Collins From August 2024 To October 2024 And Received $7,700 From Collins’ Overhaul PAC In May 2025 Via His Personal Consulting Firm; He Was A Trump 2024 Campaign Surrogate And A TPUSA Personality From 2018 To 2023. According to the Daily Mail, “Parra also claims to have served as a Trump campaign surrogate in 2024 and as a Turning Point USA personality from 2018 to 2023. Neither the White House nor TPUSA returned the Daily Mail's request for comment about the operative. Parra started his own political consulting firm, America First Prospects, a name eerily similar to the Trump-inspired group, America First Policy. The firm, or vanity project, sports a logo of what appears to be Parra's own face. [...] He interned for Collins' congressional office from August 2024 to October 2024, according to federal employee tracker Legistorm. Parra's consulting firm was also paid a total of $7,700 from Collins' political operation, Overhaul PAC, in May 2025 according to Federal Election Commission filings.” [Daily Mail, 1/10/26]
Parra Advocated For Collins’ Campaign, Labeled Himself A “Racist,” Offered To Post Nude Photographs, And Asked His Followers, “Who Wants To Get Choked By An American?” Both During And After His Employment With Collins. According to the Daily Mail, “He has multiple posts on X where he praises Collins and advocates for his Senate run. 'Mike Collins MUST be Georgia's next Senator,' Parra wrote on May 5, 2025. Days earlier, on April 30, Parra posted a selfie captioned 'racist.' Why someone would want to label themselves as such is anyone's question. Weeks later, on May 20, 2025, Parra posted on X that he 'will show my naked body,' online - a claim he later backtracked, along with other posts featuring selfies captioned 'Who wants to get choked by an American' and 'POV: You're in bed next to me.' The last payment Parra received from Overhaul PAC came on May 23, 2025, the filings show, after his posting about being a racist and inquiring about who wants to get choked.” [Daily Mail, 1/10/26]
Collins Previously Said That Parra’s Online “Product Speaks For Itself” And Claimed That “You Can Grade It By The Amount Of People That Are Watching It And Pushing It Back Out.” According to the Daily Mail, “And the congressman's past hiring of Parra spells more trouble for his political ambitions and will certainly prompt further scrutiny of Collins' judgement. The first-term lawmaker even gave an undated testimonial on the controversial operative's website: '[Preston's] product speaks for itself.' 'You can grade it by the amount of people that are watching it and pushing it back out.'” [Daily Mail, 1/10/26]
Washington Post: A Former Mike Collins Staffer Posted KKK And Nazi Images. Some Republicans See A Pattern. [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
The New Republic: MAGA Candidate’s Ex-Staffer Posted Photo Of Himself In KKK Robes. [New Republic, 8/27/26]
The Advocate: Self-Described ‘Twink Fascist’ Posted Nazi And KKK Images. He Worked For Trump’s Georgia U.S. Senate Nominee. [Advocate, 8/27/26]
Collins’ Former Staffer, Preston Parra, Posted Nazi And KKK Imagery Online; Parra Interned For Collins’ Congressional Office For Two Months In 2024 And Worked As A Paid Consultant, On A Several Month Contract, To Collins’ Overhaul PAC In 2025. According to The Washington Post, “The ex-staffer who posted the Nazi and KKK images, Preston Parra, 24, interned for Collins for two months in 2024 before working as a contractor for his leadership PAC the next year. Overhaul PAC paid Parra $7,700 for fundraising consulting in May 2025, according to Federal Election Commission filings, and in an interview, Parra said he worked for the group for several months. That was shortly before Collins announced his Senate bid.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Collins’ Former Staffer Advocated For Collins’ Election To The Senate; Hours Later, He Posted A Nazi Song Lyric, “Deutchland Uber Alles.” According to The Washington Post, “In December of that year, Parra celebrated seeing Collins signs in Georgia, in one post saying: ‘let’s get that man elected.’ A few hours earlier, he posted ‘DEUTCHLAND UBER ALLES,’ a song lyric that became associated with Nazi Germany.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Parra Used AI To Create A Photo Of Himself Draped In KKK Robes And Claimed That He Concealed His Twitter From Collins For The Duration Of His Employment. According to The Washington Post, “In an interview with The Post, Parra said that the KKK post — which he said he made using Grok’s AI feature — and much of the other content on his X account are ‘satirical’ and that he considers himself a provocateur. Collins was not aware of Parra’s personal X account when he worked for the lawmaker because he had made it private, Parra said. ‘What, is there supposed to be some kind of CIA background check?’ he said.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Parra Claimed He Was Not A White Supremacist But Affirmed His Belief “That The White Race Contributes More To The World.” According to The Washington Post, “Parra said he is not a white supremacist because it goes against his religion and he has a Colombian father. ‘I do think that the white race contributes more to the world,’ he said.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Parra Posted An Image Of A Swastika Made Out Of The Word “Twink.” According to The Washington Post, “The image of the swastika, which he posted in July, was made out of the word ‘twink,’ a slang term referring to a young and slim gay man. The images of the Klan robe and the swastika had not been previously reported.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Parra Regularly Posted Racial Slurs And Included The Phrase “White Power” In Multiple Recent Posts. According to The Washington Post, “Parra also posted a racial slur to refer to Black people several times and the phrase 'White Power’ in X posts in June and July.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Collins Praised The Quality Of Parra’s Online “Product” After Parra Provided Digital Consulting Services To Collins’ Campaign. According to The Washington Post, “Parra’s consulting website says that Collins praised the quality of his ‘product,’ although it does not say when Collins made the remark or what specifically he was referring to. ‘You can grade it by the amount of people that are watching it and pushing it back out,’ the site quotes Collins as saying. Parra said Collins’s remark was about the digital work he did for him, which included clipping video of events the congressman was part of, not his personal X account.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Collins Declined To Comment. According to The Washington Post, “Collins’s campaign did not respond to a question about whether he stood by his comment endorsing Parra’s work.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Tea Party Organizer Debbie Dooley Declared That Georgia Does “Not Need A Senator That Thinks He’s A Media Influencer On X And Has No Integrity.” According to The Washington Post, “‘We do not need a senator that thinks he’s a media influencer on X and has no integrity,’ said Dooley, the tea party organizer. ‘Ethics matter. I cannot support him.’” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Conservative Radio Host Shelley Wynter Endorsed Ossoff Over Collins Due To Collins’ Extremist Friends And His Mudslinging Primary Tactics. According to The Washington Post, “Shelley Wynter, a conservative radio host in Georgia, said he decided to endorse Ossoff after Collins won the GOP primary because it worried him that Collins did not distance himself from Phillips after a nonpartisan government watchdog group accused Phillips of hiring a person he had a personal relationship with for a job she did not actually perform. (Phillips denied any impropriety.) The ugliness of the Republican primary also played a part in his decision, he said.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Preston Parra, A Far-Right Extremist And Nazi Sympathizer, Was Drawn To Collins’ Office By The “Edgy” Tenor Of Collins’ Social Media Presence. According to The Washington Post, “The ex-staffer who posted the Nazi and KKK images, Preston Parra, 24, interned for Collins for two months in 2024 before working as a contractor for his leadership PAC the next year. Overhaul PAC paid Parra $7,700 for fundraising consulting in May 2025, according to Federal Election Commission filings, and in an interview, Parra said he worked for the group for several months. [...] Parra said he was attracted to the tone of the office’s social media when he started working for Collins. ‘I like the edginess,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think it was edgy enough.’” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Georgia Republicans Openly Wondered, “Where Does Mike End And Brandon Begin,” And Told Reporters That “Brandon Had The Final Word. He Controlled The Social Media” In Collins’ Office. According to The Washington Post, “It has long been unclear to Georgia Republicans whether the aggressive, trolling style of Collins and his campaign’s social media feed was a result of the congressman’s taste or that of Phillips, his longtime former chief of staff. ‘There was always a question of where does Mike end and Brandon begin,” said one Georgia Republican operative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the congressman. In his work for Collins, Phillips was known for spearheading a social media strategy of ‘casual trolling’ and a ‘comms philosophy of shock factor,’ according to a former staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal private discussions. ‘Brandon had the final word. He controlled the social media,’ the person said.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]
Two Former Staffers Declined To Comment On The Advice Of Their Attorneys And Eight Others Did Not Respond To Requests For Comment. According to The Washington Post, “The Post contacted 10 former staffers to ask about the culture of Collins’s office. Two declined to comment on the advice of their attorneys, while others did not respond to requests for comment.” [Washington Post, 8/27/26]