Tag: maine

Democrat Running for U.S. Senate in Maine Supports ‘Giving Land Back’ to Indigenous People

Graham Platner, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Maine recently said during a streaming session that he supports giving land back to indigenous people in his state.

Platner has been under fire in recent months after it was revealed that he had an actual Nazi tattoo on his chest. Since then, he has been running on a slightly lower profile, waiting for that news cycle to blow over.

His comments on indigenous people and land is a perfect example of progressive virtue signaling. He has to show Democrat base voters that he is as radically far left as they are.

The Washington Free Beacon reported:

‘A Foundation of My Politics’: Graham Platner Calls To Return Maine Land to ‘Indigenous Population’

Senate candidate Graham Platner (D., Maine) called to return land to natives in the state he’s running to represent, arguing that longstanding injustices committed by state and federal governments remain unresolved.

“I, for one, am a firm supporter in any legislation that increases tribal sovereignty for the indigenous population in Maine,” Platner said Monday during a virtual town hall. “I also am a firm supporter of any legislation on the federal level that begins to give more, frankly, land back to the indigenous peoples that was taken from them, and there are a few mechanisms of doing this.”

“Tribal sovereignty, quite frankly, is a foundation of my politics,” he added. “I don’t think we get to have a future full of justice, dignity, and peace, but we don’t right the injustices of the past.”

There are roughly 10,000 indigenous people living in Maine—the 10th smallest population in the United States, according Census data in 2021.

So-called land-back advocates typically call for returning public lands, specifically, to natives.

Keep reading

School Board In Maine Upholds Trans Team Ban As Well As Bathroom Ban

According to Campus Reform, “In a bold move aligning with federal directives, the Regional School Unit 24 school board in Sullivan, Maine, voted to reaffirm a policy that limits bathroom access and athletic participation to students’ biological sex.”

This demonstrates that utilizing the power of the federal government to ensure normalcy and basic rights is effective.

“The decision, originally made in October, echoes President Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” and places RSU 24 among a growing number of districts nationwide reinforcing sex-based distinctions in public education.”

WABI is reporting that around 100 community members filled a meeting on Tuesday night with people both for and against this common-sense policy.

“Despite ongoing legal threats from the Maine Human Rights Commission, the board stood firm and secured legal representation to defend its stance.”

“Superintendent Michael Eastman acknowledged the intensity of the debate but said the board remains committed to careful consideration and communication as it moves forward.”

This is a critical move in the fight for normality and common sense in America.

“At RSU 73, a similar legal fight is playing out over transgender students’ ability to access spaces and activities restricted to members of the opposite biological sex. The school board there is paying defense attorneys upwards of $275 an hour, according to documents reviewed by WGME.”

Sadly, this is an issue that has to be debated, as until recently, it was common sense that there are two genders and they should have separate spaces.

The federal government should continue to ensure basic rights for Men and Women are not violated by the  Trans community.

This is a civil rights issue of our time, and it’s something the Trump administration is right to enforce.

Keep reading

In echoes of Minneapolis, whistleblower says Maine company bilked Medicaid dollars

Ahealth services contractor in Maine founded by a Somali immigrant is now accused by a whistleblower of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program, raising concerns in Congress that fraud in government programs is more widespread than previously known.

The recent charges from last month connected to a $1 billion fraud ring among Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have focused renewed attention from lawmakers on rooting out fraud in federally-funded programs across the country. 

Just days after the Minnesota fraud ring surfaced in the national conversation, a whistleblower who worked for a health services contractor in Maine came forward in a public interview and alleged the company, Gateway Community Services, defrauded the state’s Medicaid program for years. 

The company was founded by Abdullahi Ali, a Somali-American who also ran for office, a position equivalent to governor, in a Somali state. At the time, he was serving as Gateway’s executive director. 

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, says that he plans to probe the cases in both Minnesota and Maine to determine whether similar fraud using public dollars exists elsewhere. He believes there is a high chance his committee will find more.  

“This does appear that it’s a very organized scheme in multiple states with groups of Somalis,” Comer said in an interview with NewsNation, which first aired the whistleblower’s allegations. “I would go out on a limb and say this is happening in other states with other social programs with other groups,” Comer said.

Keep reading

Another Imported Disaster: Somali Refugee and Lewiston City Councilor Who Lied About Residency Just Indicted on Federal Gun Theft Charges

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline is calling for the resignation of newly elected City Councilor Iman Osman after an Androscoggin County grand jury handed down an indictment charging Osman with receiving stolen property and theft by unauthorized taking.

According to court documents obtained by WMTW, the alleged crimes involve weapons taken from two separate estates between November 15, 2023, and October 11, 2024.

The indictment accuses Osman of knowingly receiving, retaining, or disposing of firearms or explosive devices that he knew, or had reason to believe, were stolen.

A separate count alleges Osman unlawfully exercised control over firearms belonging to a second estate.

“While he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the judicial process will be lengthy and this matter has become an unwelcome distraction from the essential business of governing. Stepping down would be the right thing to do,” Sheline told WMTW.

But the indictment is only part of the controversy surrounding Osman.

Osman, 36, currently serves on the Lewiston School Committee and was elected on November 4 to represent Ward 5 on the City Council, defeating incumbent Councilor Eryn M. Soule-Leclair by just 35 votes.

However, his residency has been under intense scrutiny.

In the indictment, Osman lists his address as 210 Blake Street in Lewiston, a property that has been condemned since October 2024 following a drug raid and the use of chemical agents described as “a deterrent for humans.”

In other words, the address used by the councilor-elect is legally uninhabitable.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the Lewiston School Committee declined to investigate Osman’s residency claims.

Keep reading

Second Dem-run state hit by accusations of widespread Somali fraud… with woke lawmaker giving vile answer to voter who asked him about it

A second Democrat-run state has been hit by accusations of fraud within the Somali community, prompting a vile response from one lawmaker who was quizzed about it by a constituent.

As Minnesota grapples with one of the biggest fraud scandals in US history, a whistleblower in Maine has now stepped forward alleging state taxpayers have been defrauded out of funds meant for social services.

Christopher Bernardini told NewsNation he worked as a ‘billing guru’ for Portland-based Gateway Community Services for seven years until April 2025 – while they were allegedly defrauding Maine’s Medicaid program.

The company’s founder and CEO, Abdullahi Ali, is a Somali-American who ran for president of Jubaland, a state in Somalia, last year while juggling his role as executive director.

He came under fire at the time amid reports from The Maine Wire that he had boasted of funding the militia to ‘help the troops buy weapons, bullets and food’ while he was in America.

The comments sparked concerns about whether any of the $28.8million in payments his LLC received via MaineCare had been misappropriated.

The Daily Mail has contacted Gateway Community Services for comment. 

Ali wrote on X: ‘I make no apologies for building a successful business in Maine, working hard to earn a living, earning my PhD, giving back to my Maine community, and running for office in Jubaland.

‘I am proud to contribute my hard-earned $ to support my people back home. America is a nation of laws—you cannot change facts by fabricating false stories. I am proud Somali-American.’

Keep reading

Maine Democrat Senate Candidate Graham Platner Caught on Tape Saying He Wants to ‘Stack’ the Supreme Court and Impeach Two Justices

Maine Democrat Graham Platner, a candidate for the U.S. Senate who has been caught saying racist and sexist things on the internet, admitted he is a communist, and also has lost staffers due to a scandal about his actual Nazi tattoo, is back in the news.

Platner was caught on tape saying to supporters that he wants his party to regain control of the senate in order to ‘stack’ the Supreme Court. He then went on to say that they should also impeach two justices. One can safely assume that Justice Clarence Thomas is one of them and the other is surely another conservative.

This guy belongs nowhere near the United States Senate. He is a total radical.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Graham Platner Calls To Stack the Supreme Court and Impeach ‘At Least Two’ Sitting Justices

Senate candidate Graham Platner called to stack the Supreme Court and impeach “at least two” of its sitting justices, moves he said should be top priorities for Democrats should they retake the upper chamber next year.

“We’re going to have to start treating the Supreme Court like the political action wing that it has become of conservatism,” Platner said Saturday during a Somerset County Democrats meeting in the central Maine town of Skowhegan. “It is not functioning as a constitutional body.”

“I’m a supporter of stacking the Court,” he continued. “I’m also a supporter of, I mean, the Senate can write its own rules. … I firmly believe if we held Supreme Court justices to the same standard that we hold other federal judges, there’s a compelling case for the impeachment and removal of at least two justices.”

“It’s very frustrating to me that there are Democrats in the Senate that either do not understand or don’t want to understand the power they actually have. … If we retake the Senate, get the majority—fingers crossed—we need to use every single lever of power that we have to deal with the Supreme Court.”

Keep reading

Graham Platner’s Campaign in Freefall: Manager QUITS Amid Explosive Nazi Tattoo Scandal

Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign is spiraling out of control after his newly appointed campaign manager abruptly resigned just four days into the job.

According to Axios, Kevin Brown stepped down on Monday, citing personal reasons.

“Graham is a dear friend. I started this campaign Tuesday but found out Friday we have a baby on the way,” Brown told Axios.

“Graham deserves someone who is 100% in on his race and we want to lean into this new experience as a family, so it was best we step back sooner than later so Graham can get the manager he deserves.”

But the timing couldn’t be worse.

Platner has been in damage-control mode since acknowledging on Pod Save America that a skull-and-crossbones tattoo he got nearly two decades ago “while drunk” bore a disturbing resemblance to the Nazi SS Totenkopf, the skull emblem worn by Hitler’s elite death squads.

But CNN’s KFile dug up deleted Reddit posts from 2019 where Platner discussed the very same symbol and its Nazi ties.

CNN reported:

A KFile investigation has uncovered mounting evidence that Platner — a Marine veteran— was aware of and defended the use of Nazi symbolism that had come to be embraced by some members of the military.

Keep reading

Schumer Takes Public Stab At Sanders As Democrats Descend Into Chaotic Political Scuffle

Democrats are already eating their own in Maine — and the Senate race hasn’t even started.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threw gasoline on an already fiery primary Tuesday by endorsing Gov. Janet Mills for Senate — a move that instantly put him at odds with Bernie Sanders and the party’s progressive base.

“We think that Janet Mills is the best candidate to retire Susan Collins,” Schumer said at a press conference. “She’s a tested two-term governor and the people of Maine have an enormous amount of affection and respect for her.”

But Schumer’s safe, establishment pick enraged the left. Sanders — who’s been boosting populist underdog Graham Platner, a Marine veteran turned oyster farmer — has already blasted party leaders for “wasting millions on an unnecessary & divisive primary.”

Platner, who’s drawn heavy progressive support and hauled in over $3.2 million by the end of September, didn’t mince words either. His campaign torched Schumer’s move as “the establishment backing the establishment,” vowing their guy would win “because he has Mainers behind him.”

The Democratic civil war couldn’t be clearer: Schumer wants the polished, 77-year-old governor who’s led Maine for two terms. Sanders wants the scrappy outsider who calls out the Washington elite — even if his past social media posts have become a political minefield.

Platner has been scrambling to explain a string of crude Reddit comments unearthed by CNN and The Washington Post — including one where he used a slur for the disabled, called himself a “communist,” said “all” cops are “bastards,” and downplayed sexual assault in the military.

Platner’s scandals worsened this week when he revealed he has a tattoo resembling an alleged Nazi symbol.

In a video posted to X, Platner blamed the remarks on his battle with PTSD and insisted the people of Maine know “this is not at all the person that they have come to know, and come to interact with in reality.”

The controversy didn’t stop Sanders from sticking by him, calling Platner “a great working-class candidate.” But Schumer clearly wants none of it — betting that Mills is the Democrats’ best shot at unseating Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who’s gunning for a sixth term.

Keep reading

After Years of Calling Everyone Else Hitler, Democrats Suddenly Excuse Their Candidate’s Nazi Tattoo

The Democratic Party has spent the better part of a decade finding “Nazi dog whistles” in the most innocuous of places, including a blue jeans ad featuring Sydney Sweeney.

If you ask them, they’ll gladly tell you that Republican presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump are just like Hitler. Robert De Niro thinks Trump advisor Stephen Miller, a Jew, is a Nazi. Back when President Trump nominated Pete Hegseth for Secretary of War, the Left made a big point of claiming his Christian tattoos were actually symbols of “white supremacy” and — you guessed it — Nazism.

But suddenly, Nazi imagery doesn’t seem to matter quite so much to Democrats. Not now that Graham Platner, a Democrat running to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine, revealed he had a rather large Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest.

Platner’s excuse was that he was inebriated and on shore leave, and Democrats have spent the past 48 hours dismissing the troublesome ink as a distraction from the campaign. Even Bernie Sanders said it wasn’t a big deal. We doubt he’d be so blase about a Republican sporting such body art.

It’s one thing to think you’re getting the Chinese character for “peace” tattooed on your bicep. It’s another to get a literal Nazi skull inked on your chest.

As to the comment about “s**tposting” online, Democrats spent years pushing cancel culture on those young men.

An “authentic working-class party” would not want to be represented by someone like Platner and his Nazi tats. Then again, Vigeland is also the person who laughed at the traumatic brain injury inflicted on a teenage volleyball player by a “trans girl,” so perhaps she’s not the best judge of character.

But Vigeland wasn’t the only one. Journalist Ryan Grim is fine with Democrats embracing guys like Platner, too.

Keep reading

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner admits he got Nazi-linked tattoo while ‘very inebriated’

Graham Platner, a Marine vet who’s running for a US Senate seat in Maine, said he was “very inebriated” when he got a tattoo linked to Nazism while on leave in Croatia nearly 20 years ago and insists he’s “not a secret Nazi.”

The liberal candidate, 41, went out of his way to disclose the controversial skull tattoo on the right side of his chest as he shared an embarrassing video that shows him singing in only briefs at a wedding celebration for his brother.

The Democratic oyster farmer, in an apparent attempt to get ahead of bad press, said he was on leave with fellow Marines in Croatia in 2007 when he got the questionable ink, which appears to resemble the “Totenkopf” — an image adopted as a symbol by Hitler’s Schutzstaffel, or SS.

“We got very inebriated, and we did what Marines on liberty do, and we decided to go get a tattoo,” he explained on the “Pod Save America” show.

“We chose a terrifying-looking skull and crossbones off the wall because we were Marines and, you know, skulls and crossbones are a pretty standard military thing, and we got those tattoos, and we all moved on with our lives,” Platner explained.

“I am not a secret Nazi,” the Bernie Sanders-backed candidate insisted, claiming he was unaware the tattoo had potentially sickening connections to Nazism.

He said the tattoo never raised any red flags, including when he joined the Army National Guard. The Army prohibits ink that is extremist, racist or sexist.

“It never came up until we got wind that in the opposition research somebody was shopping the idea that I was a secret Nazi with a hidden Nazi tattoo,” he told “Pod Save America” host Tommy Vietor.

After a firestorm of backlash, Platner said he was planning to have the offending ink removed.

“It was not until I started hearing from reporters and DC insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,” the embattled candidate told Politico Tuesday.

“I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that — and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. I am already planning to get this removed.”

His former campaign director, however, disputed his claim.

“Maybe he didn’t know it when he got it, but he got it years ago, and he should have had it covered up because he knows damn well what it means,” Genevieve McDonald wrote on Facebook, according to the outlet.

She resigned from Platner’s campaign after his old Reddit posts surfaced, which include labeling all police “bastards,” describing rural white Americans as “actually” stupid and racist — and once calling himself a “communist” around 2021, according to CNN.

Keep reading