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Some of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s ex-girlfriends spoke out in a damning report Thursday, which chronicled new allegations of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.
Platner continues to be under fire for a chest tattoo called the Totenkopf, used by Nazi death camp guards, alleged sexting of younger women and publicly finding humor in a Taliban attack that nearly killed former Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Teddy Daniels.
One of his ex-girlfriends, Lyndsey Fifield, told the New York Times the two met in 2013 when he was a George Washington University student, and she was with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with a growing presence in conservative circles.
Fifield recounted how Platner would poke fun at his chest tattoo of a Totenkopf and told the paper that Platner explained he and other members of his military unit chose it because of parallels between them and the Schutzstaffel — in that “they were a death unit… killers,” which appears to contradict his narrative that he did not know the tattoo was associated with the Nazi emblem.
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She also recalled how the oyster farmer and veteran would sharpen an ax while watching television and ruminate about raping home invaders.
“He said this a lot: If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them,” but not in a sexual or “gay” way, Fifield said, adding that Platner stated he would want to instead impose dominance over them through penetration and that he believed rape was about power.
She also described a public encounter where Platner purportedly pulled her out of a taxi by her wrist during an altercation.
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Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from his time in the military, told Fox News Digital that he has “been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD.”
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self-medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” Platner said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated,” he added. “I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”
Fifield recounted another incident when Platner reportedly pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut. She later was able to leave after falling asleep and waking after some time had passed.
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Besides the rape visualizations, Platner would “fantasize about killing people he deemed a threat,” according to the Times’ conversation with Fifield – who briefly spoke with Fox News Digital on the phone, but declined to further comment on the story.
Fifield added that in addition to the ax which he had from prior work bushwacking on the Appalachian Trail, Platner kept an AR-15 in his Capitol Hill home. The firearm type is currently prohibited in the District of Columbia, but that law is under legal challenge from the Trump Justice Department.
Of Fifield’s allegations, Platner’s campaign pointed to her conservative-leaning politics and called her a “lifelong GOP operative who’s dedicated her career to electing Republicans.”
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In turn, Fifield, who previously worked at the Heritage Foundation and briefly worked on Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign, among other conservative jobs, said she is not affiliated with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; the five-term incumbent Platner is challenging.
Another woman, Jenny Racicot, is a fellow Maine Democrat who was in an “off-and-on” relationship with Platner between 2019 and 2021, according to the Times.
She told the paper some of Platner’s controversial Reddit posts hardened her view that he has issues with women.
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“I recognized a version of him that I had experiences with,” she said.
Another Maine Democrat who he dated declined to have her name published by the Times and said Platner would at times drink heavily, and that her role in the relationship seemed like “collateral damage to the world that is his.”
The Republican National Committee said the report appears to be nothing new in the cadence of scandals facing the Democratic challenger.
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“Every day brings another deeply disturbing revelation about Graham Platner,” spokeswoman Delanie Bomar said.
“If he’s willing to do this to his own girlfriend, imagine what he’s willing to do in a position of political power. Maine voters deserve to know why Democrats are willing to excuse this deranged behavior,” said Bomar.
“If Chuck Schumer and national Democrats don’t distance themselves from Platner, they’ll be forced to answer for his behavior every day from now until Election Day,” she continued.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Collins, Gov. Janet Mills, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, and Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Old Orchard Beach; the legislature’s top Democrat, for comment.
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