Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner says he covered up tattoo that resembles Nazi symbol

Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner said Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reflect an image widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.

The first-time political candidate said 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.

Platner, in an Associated Press interview, said that while his campaign initially said he would remove the tattoo, he chose to cover it up with another tattoo due to the limited options where he lives in rural Maine.

“Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,” he said. “I wanted this thing off my body.”

The initial tattoo image resembled a specific symbol of Hitler’s paramilitary Schutzstaffel, or SS, which was responsible for the systematic murders of millions of Jews and others in Europe during World War II. Platner didn’t offer details about the new tattoo, but offered to send the AP a photo later Wednesday.

The tattoo revelation closely follows the discovery of a series of controversial online statements on Reddit, including one in which he dismissed sexual assault in the military. Platner attempted to explain his past online comments in a video he posted to X last week. In it, he addressed not only his previous comments dismissing military sexual assaults, but also his questioning Black patrons’ gratuity habits and criticizing police officers and rural Americans.

“As I read through them, I read things that I absolutely do not agree with,” Platner said in a five-minute apology video. “I read through and I see things that — words and statements that I abhor. I also see the trajectory of my life.” 

Platner also told Pod Save America that his past Reddit comments were intended to “get a rise out of people on the Internet” and “weren’t even reflective of my opinions back then.” 

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

Platner said he was not ashamed to confront his past comments and actions because it reflects the lessons he needed to take to get where he is today.

“I don’t look at this as a liability,” he told the AP. “I look at this as is a life that I have lived, a journey that has been difficult, that has been full of struggle, that has also gotten me to where I am today. And I’m very proud of who I am.”

DNC Chair Ken Martin was asked over the weekend, before the tattoo revelation, if Platner’s past comments are disqualifying. 

“I don’t think they’re disqualifying, but certainly they’re not right,” Martin said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” And I’m glad that he apologized for them. They’re indefensible, they’re hurtful, and they’re offensive. The question, though, is I believe in second chances. I believe a lot of people say things at their most vulnerable times. They say things when they’re young that again are offensive. And the question for me is whether or not they actually learn from them, whether or not they actually reflect on those, that they’re sincere in their apology, and more importantly that they have changed their behavior.”

Platner has a planned town hall Wednesday in Ogunquit, Maine.