Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine is facing new allegations about past social media posts and when he knew that a tattoo he had on his chest resembled a Nazi symbol.
CNN reported on Friday that it has uncovered two more deleted social media posts that indicate he might have been aware of the Totenkopf tattoo’s Nazi ties years ago.
During a town hall in Ogunquit on Wednesday, Platner said he only learned last week that the “death’s head” was a symbol used by Hitler’s paramilitary Schutzstaffel, or SS, which was responsible for the systematic murders of millions of Jews and others in Europe before and during World War II.
Platner has had the tattoo covered up.
Spokespeople for Platner’s campaign did not respond to requests from the Press Herald for an interview Friday night.
The latest report from CNN comes at the end of a week in which Platner, a former Marine, admitted to making posts on social media years ago in which he downplayed sexual assault in the military. He also made offensive comments about rural Americans, police and gay people.
He dismissed the posts as “stupid joke comments” and said the “establishment” is trying to scare him off.
The crowded Democratic primary field also includes two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who announced her candidacy last week and is backed by the national party. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recruited her to run in a bid to unseat five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
A recent poll, however, showed primary voters favor Platner by a more than a 2-1 margin over Mills. The revelations about Platner’s now-deleted social media posts unfolded during the period the poll was being taken.
