Graham Platner to speak at Maine rally in return to public eye. Graham Platner, the former Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine who dropped out of the race amid a series of scandals, will headline a Labor Day rally in Ellsworth, Maine. The rally, which is publicly listed on the Hancock County Democrats website and was first reported by the Bangor Daily News, will mark Platner’s first public appearance since leaving the Senate race in early July.
He will speak about the history of unions and role of organized labor, according to the website. Platner left the race following an accusation of sexual assault by a woman he previously dated, though he strongly denied the allegation. His campaign was marred by other scandals even before the allegation, including old social media posts dismissive of sexual assault, a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol that he later covered up, sexually explicit messages that he sent to other women while married, and allegations of physical intimidation by former partners.
He denied the accusations of physical intimidation and said others were the result of PTSD from his time in the military. Platner has since been replaced as the Democratic nominee by Troy Jackson, a logger from northern Maine. Jackson, though he is counting on Platner’s supporters, has said he would not want or accept a Platner endorsement.
My time in the military was such a traumatic experience that I had no choice but to get a Nazi tattoo and harass women.
Anyway, I've come back to help disrupt working class politics and to associate the movement with brave veterans like myself.
Also it was so traumatic and awful that I signed up to be a mercenary afterward. I am a completely trustworthy person and should be in a leadership position.
I mean, maybe his trauma led to him feeling like his only purpose was military service, prompting him to become a mercenary? But I don't really feel the need to give him the benefit of the doubt when he says things about enjoying the war he was in...