By Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner is defending himself against allegations of racism after a resurfaced video appeared to show a Nazi-era “Totenkopf” skull tattooed on his chest.
Platner, once celebrated as an anti-establishment progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, now finds his campaign scrambling to explain not only the tattoo but also a series of offensive Reddit posts he made years earlier about Black people and sexual assault victims, writes Axios.
In an interview released Monday on Pod Save America, Platner said the clip—showing him shirtless and singing Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” at his brother’s wedding—was meant to preempt opposition research. Instead, it gave Republicans a ready-made attack line. The GOP’s Senate campaign arm swiftly accused him of bearing a “Nazi tattoo.”
Platner got the tattoo in 2007. That tattoo is now old enough to vote. Are we to believe that for nearly two decades, military-history enthusiast Platner looked at that tattoo on himself, seeing it in his reflection in the mirror each day, and it never crossed his mind that it… pic.twitter.com/fquxghbfVC
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) October 22, 2025
“I am not a secret Nazi,” Platner told host Tommy Vietor, insisting the tattoo was a drunken mistake from his Marine days in Croatia. “We all got these terrifying-looking skull and crossbones,” he said. “I was very inebriated.”
#Maine #MEpolitics
Graham Platner Explains How He Accidently Got
-An SS Nazi Tattoo?Leftists on reddit are saying this is one and bailing on him after he was asked on a podcast about it. Funny how the Left is the only side that even knows what these symbols mean and are. pic.twitter.com/gsJqPYlCiF
— TheUnquirer (@unquirer) October 21, 2025
Platner added that he later served in the Army National Guard, obtained a security clearance, and worked on a diplomatic security detail in Afghanistan—positions that would have disqualified him if the tattoo had been deemed extremist. “At no point did anybody ever once say, ‘Hey, you’re a Nazi,’” he said. “It never came up until opposition research started shopping the idea.”
The Anti-Defamation League, in a statement to Axios, said the tattoo “appears” to be a Nazi Totenkopf, calling that possibility “troubling.” Yet the group acknowledged that “sometimes people get tattoos without understanding their hateful association,” and that the key question is whether Platner repudiates its meaning.
The controversy comes amid heightened Pentagon scrutiny of extremist symbols. In 2021, the Department of Defense—working with the FBI—formalized procedures for reviewing “questionable tattoos” that may suggest extremist or violent tendencies, following years of concern over white supremacist infiltration in military ranks.
Platner has already apologized for his Reddit posts, describing them as the product of a dark period after military service. “For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry,” he said in an earlier video statement.
According to reports, the posts included racially charged remarks such as, “Why don’t Black people tip?” and a comment suggesting sexual assault victims “take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f–ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”
But newly uncovered posts raise even deeper questions about Platner’s radical past. The Robinson Report revealed that Platner, posting under the handle “P-Hustle,” was a member of the Maine chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA) and instructed its members in firearms tactics.
“All we do is lots of range days, firearms education classes, and developing mutual aid networks in our community,” Platner wrote in June 2020. “Just put on a defensive handgun course two weekends ago, and we do monthly ‘introduction to firearms’ courses for new members, as well as more advanced classes for experienced members.” He added that the group benefited from “a significant amount of combat veterans and firearms instructors who have put together a solid curriculum to build proficiency amongst our membership.”
Images from SRA social media accounts show multiple training sessions and what one post described as an “impressive arsenal of guns.” In a separate Reddit exchange, Platner encouraged a newcomer to join the organization, saying, “We’re quite active.”
The Maine SRA, which claims roughly 20 members statewide, has not been linked to any violence or criminal conduct. But under a 2023 state statute, “unauthorized paramilitary training” is a Class D crime if intended to cause civil disorder or harm.
NEW: Ex-Marine Graham Platner Taught Military Tactics, Recruited for Socialist Paramilitary Group in Maine
Reddit posts reveal embattled progressive star recruited and provided firearms training for the Maine Socialist Rifle Association… pic.twitter.com/hxLKr3s4TW
— Steve Robinson (@BigSteve207) October 22, 2025
Nationally, the Socialist Rifle Association drew attention after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, whose killer was reportedly linked to far-left militant circles. The group says it promotes armed self-defense and mutual aid, not violence.
Platner’s association with the group, combined with his tattoo and earlier online remarks, has created a perfect storm for Democrats, especially in an era where the party’s base has become more and more violent.
Some in the party, however, have remained loyal, revealing they don’t believe half of the attacks against Republicans, whom they regularly called Nazis. Sanders reaffirmed his support Tuesday, saying he still stands by the candidate. But EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler, whose organization supports Maine Gov. Janet Mills in the same race, condemned Platner’s remarks as “unacceptable and disqualifying.”
Nazi jokes from random Young Republicans? For Democrats, that’s a national crisis. Nazi tattoos from leftwing candidates for Senate? No big deal.
Platner’s campaign is now fighting to salvage credibility in a race that has morphed into a referendum on judgment, redemption, and the blurred lines between activism and extremism in modern American politics.
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