Maine Senate candidate Platner says he’ll remove tattoo recognized as Nazi symbol

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, says he will remove a tattoo of an image widely recognized as a Nazi symbol that he got on his chest nearly 20 years ago.

Platner said Tuesday on the Pod Save America podcast that he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps. It happened during a night of drinking while he was on leave in Croatia, he said, adding he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police.

“In the nearly 20 years since, this hasn’t come up,” Plater said later in a statement. “I enlisted in the Army which involved a full physical that examines tattoos for hate symbols. I also passed a full background check to receive a security clearance to join the Ambassador to Afghanistan’s security detail.”

Questions about the tattoo come after the recent discovery of Platner’s now-deleted online statements that included dismissing military sexual assaults, questioning Black patrons’ gratuity habits and criticizing police officers and rural Americans.

Platner has apologized for those comments, saying they were made after he left the Army in 2012, when he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The oyster farmer and first-time political candidate is mounting a progressive campaign against Republican Susan Collins, who has held the Senate seat for 30 years. The crowded Democratic primary field includes two-term Gov. Janet Mills.

Platner has resisted calls to drop out of the race. He has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who has described Platner as a stronger candidate for the seat than Mills.

Platner planned a town hall Wednesday in Ogunquit, Maine.

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Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.