Austin Brown #

Introduction #

Austin Brown is a Republican political staffer who resigned as field director for Eric Pratt’s congressional campaign in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District on September 10, 2026, after his many racist and violent social-media posts were highlighted by the rival DFL campaign. Brown, who had moved to Minnesota from Ohio for the role, posted aggressively for years on X, where he identified himself as working for the Pratt campaign; the account was public until the very day his posts became the subject of a State Capitol press conference, and it is no longer accessible. The resignation, announced by Pratt himself, turned a routine staff hire into a late-cycle liability in a closely watched U.S. House race.

Background Information #

Public information about Brown is largely limited to his campaign role and his social-media presence. He was hired as field director for Eric Pratt, a Republican state senator from Prior Lake running for the U.S. House seat of Rep. Angie Craig in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, which runs from south of the Twin Cities through exurbs and into farm towns; Brown relocated from Ohio for the position. On his social-media accounts, he identified himself as working for the Pratt campaign. His X account remained public until Thursday, September 10, 2026 — the day his posts drew a press conference from his employer’s opponent — after which it became inaccessible.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from reporting by MPR News, which reviewed and described Brown’s social-media posts after they were publicized by his employer’s rival campaign at a State Capitol press conference. They were never admitted by Brown, never criminally charged, and never adjudicated in court. MPR’s reporting records no public response from Brown.

According to MPR News, Brown posted “many aggressive statements up through 2026,” including calls for transgender people to be put in “asylums,” a post calling for immigration agents to physically attack observers, and posts railing against Jewish and Muslim people. In one post, Brown called himself a “White Christian Nationalist” — a self-description MPR echoed in its headline as “self-avowed.” The posts sat in public view on an account that openly identified him as a Pratt campaign staffer; MPR’s reporting does not indicate they prompted any action from the campaign before September 10, 2026.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The posts were highlighted by Matt Little, Pratt’s DFL opponent and a former state senator, who gathered community leaders and DFL lawmakers at the Minnesota Capitol on September 10 to call for Brown’s removal. “This type of rhetoric from a candidate or their staff is unacceptable,” Little said. Imam Yusuf Abdulle, the executive director of the Islamic Association of North America, urged Pratt to remove Brown from his campaign: “When Jewish people face antisemitism, Black Americans are attacked through racist stereotypes, or Muslims and other communities are demonized for political gain, the dignity and safety of every American is threatened.” Pratt announced Brown’s resignation the same day and strongly condemned the posts, saying in a statement: “I have always been clear that antisemitism, racism, and discrimination of any kind have no place in our politics or our communities.” The Pratt campaign did not respond to questions about why Brown’s public posts hadn’t prevented him from being hired.

Current Status #

Brown is out of the Pratt campaign as of September 10, 2026, having resigned on the day his posts were publicized, and his formerly public X account is no longer accessible. MPR’s reporting records no public statement from Brown himself — no denial, explanation, or apology — and no criminal or legal proceedings have been reported in connection with the posts. The vetting question the campaign declined to answer — how years of public posts on an account identifying him as a campaign staffer went unflagged — remained unanswered as of the initial coverage.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Brown moved from Ohio to Minnesota for the field-director position, and that job — the visible centerpiece of his political career to date — ended the same day his posts were publicized. He is now publicly identified in statewide coverage with the posts themselves, including the “White Christian Nationalist” self-description, a label that will follow him in politics or political employment. The episode also handed Pratt’s opponents a ready-made line of attack about the campaign’s vetting in the final stretch of a competitive race for a seat both parties had targeted, and it drew faith leaders and lawmakers into publicly pressing a Republican nominee over a staffing decision.