Collins campaign says it did not know of organizers' past associations
Mike CollinsMike Collins U.S. Senate campaign, through spokesperson Meyer Siegfried
Responding to a report that two county convoy captains had held leadership roles in American Patriots USA, a group founded by a former Ku Klux Klan leader, the Collins campaign said it had not known of their past associations and that their views do not represent Collins.
“The past associations of these individuals was not known to the campaign, and these views do not represent Mike Collins or the more than 800 Convoy Captains around the state that want leaders who will deliver a prosperous, safer, and more affordable Georgia.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Mike Collins hire aides with white nationalist ties, as Jon Ossoff claimed?
At the October 8, 2026 Georgia Senate debate, Sen. Jon Ossoff told Rep. Mike Collins he had hired "half the Third Reich" to staff his congressional office and had promoted neo-Nazi content online. The charge followed months of reporting about a former Collins chief of staff, a former intern, Collins's son-in-law and two campaign organizers. Collins says he condemns racism and antisemitism and fired people when problems arose. Whether those aides and associations match Ossoff's description is disputed.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
FOX 5 Atlanta summarizes the Daily Beast report and quotes the Collins campaign's statement that the organizers' past associations were not known to the campaign, along with Ossoff's response.
Before the quotation
The Daily Beast reported that Joshua Mote and Michael Boggus, county convoy captains for the Collins campaign, had held leadership roles in American Patriots USA, a group founded by former Ku Klux Klan leader Chester Doles.
After the quotation
Mote told reporters he had stepped away from the convoy captain role in April and had left American Patriots USA when he learned who Doles was. Ossoff said Collins is surrounded at work, at home and at his campaign by white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Klan associates.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Collins's associations as Ossoff characterized them, the campaign says the organizers' past associations were not known to it and that their views do not represent Collins. It distances Collins from the organizers' views rather than defending them, disputing that the appointments reflect his own views, so we used challenges the characterization.
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More from this case
Read the full caseJosh Marshall says Ossoff's Third Reich line stated facts in the public record
“Ossoff didn’t call Mike Collins a Nazi. ... This isn’t some random swipe. It’s been one of the biggest stories of the campaign season that week after week reporters keep finding members of Collins campaign, political operation or family who are associated with far-right or neo-Nazi individuals and organizations or who distribute anti-Semitic propaganda. This is merely an aggressive statement of facts that are unambiguously in the public record.”Read statement
Brooks tells Ossoff to stop calling opponents Nazis but calls Collins's circle disturbing
“Jon Ossoff, my advice to him is, if you start calling your political opponents Nazis, maybe it's time to shut up. That's just not what we do here in this country. And the Bull Connor stuff -- and a lot of these candidates have real weaknesses. Like, Mike Collins, who's the Georgia Republican, I think what's accurate to say about him is, he has a disturbing number of young men on his -- around him who have ties to the alt-right and some of the vile antisemitic stuff online.”Read statement
Filipkowski calls Ossoff's line hyperbolic but says Collins hired the Third Reich's disciples
“While it was a bit hyperbolic for Ossoff to say that Mike Collins hired half the Third Reich to staff his office, it is accurate to say he hired their disciples.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Collins campaign says it did not know of organizers' past associations". First published: 2026-10-13. Last updated: 2026-10-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/5648-responding-to-a-report-that-two-county-convoy