New Allegations Come Out Against Graham Platner

A woman who says she briefly dated Graham Platner in 2021 came forward on social media Thursday, one day after Platner became the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, with new allegations about his personal conduct and his explanation for a tattoo that has become a major controversy in his campaign.

The woman, who posts on X under the handle 420mercymain69, said in a lengthy statement that she met Platner on Tinder in February 2021 and dated him until mid-July of that year. She described herself as a Maryland native and a “well-informed leftist,” and said she was initially drawn to Platner’s profile because he was “hot and he was a leftist.”

“I am stepping forward as a person who has experienced lying and manipulation by his hand to lend my voice to what is a growing number of women who have been wronged by this man in one way or another,” she wrote.

Her statement adds to the wave of scrutiny surrounding Platner, who is running to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner has already faced criticism over past comments involving sexual abuse, race, and terrorism, as well as allegations of threatening behavior toward women.

The woman’s post focused partly on Platner’s tattoo, which critics have identified as a Totenkopf, a skull symbol associated with the Nazi SS. According to the woman, when she asked Platner about it during their relationship, he told her he had gotten the tattoo without understanding its meaning, but kept it as a reminder that the United States had been “the bad guys” in many parts of the world.

She said the explanation was different from the one Platner later gave to Maine voters.

“A sob story of monumental proportions that only further solidified my perception of his ideology,” she wrote. “But surprisingly enough, not the one he gave to the people of Maine.”

Platner has said he did not know about the tattoo’s Nazi associations when he got it. His campaign has said he picked a skull-and-crossbones design from a wall in Croatia to mark his survival in Ramadi and to remember friends who died there. The campaign has also noted that he has since covered the tattoo and answered repeated questions about it.

A Platner spokesperson responded to the latest controversy by accusing Collins of avoiding questions about her own record, including her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, her stance on rural hospitals, and her support for past foreign wars.