Tag: maine

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.

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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.’

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Dem Running for Senate in Maine as a Humble Veteran Called Himself a ‘Communist’ and Painted Rural Whites as Stupid and Racist Online

A maverick Democrat running for the U.S. Senate insists that what he said online a few years ago is not what he means now.

Graham Platner is an oyster farmer who is challenging Gov. Janet Mills for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the 2026 midterm elections.

As noted by New York magazine, his campaign has been fawned over by progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, which has helped him amass a $4 million war chest 13 months before the election.

Then came a report from CNN that mined the depths of Platner’s Reddit posts from 2020 and 2021, all of which had been deleted before he announced his candidacy.

For example, a 2021 Reddit snippet noted, “I got older and became a communist.”

His antagonism to the police came through when he wrote, “Bastards. Cops are bastards. All of them, in fact.”

He said police misconduct is “a problem that extends deep into the profession as a whole.”

Rural America came in for criticism when he responded to a post saying, “White people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks” by writing, “Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are.”

The Marine veteran shared his disillusionment with his service.

“My time in America’s imperial wars definitely radicalized me further, and I’m significantly more left today than I was back then. It is difficult to see all that horror, as well as all the grift and corruption, and not find the entire thing utterly bankrupt,” he wrote. “I did used to love America, or at least the idea of it. These days I’m pretty disgusted by it all.”

But now he says all that was just a mixed-up guy venting.

“That was very much me f***ing around the internet,” he said to CNN.  “I don’t want people to see me for who I was in my worst Internet comment — or even frankly who I was in my best Internet comment… I don’t think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.”

The 41-year-old said he is not what his years-old comments might imply.

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National Guard “Accidentally” Gives Service Members COVID-19 Vaccine Instead of Influenza Shot

This week it was revealed that the US National Guard wrongly administered the Covid vaccine to a group of service members who were expecting to receive an influenza vaccine, according to The Epoch Times. The incident occurred during a mobile vaccination clinic for the Maine National Guard and at least one member who refused the mRNA vaccine on religious grounds received the experimental injection without his knowledge.

That service member, Mathew Bouchard, is no longer a member of the National Guard. After the incident, he felt that the trust was completely broken. He was ordered to take a flu shot and feels like he was duped. Because the incident happened close to the end of his service contract, he chose not to renew.

Bouchard explained his decision to The Epoch Times:

“Bouchard said he was ordered to receive an annual flu vaccine and went to the clinic to get that vaccine. He verified his name, date of birth, and part of his social security number, and told officials at the clinic he was there for the flu vaccine. But he was injected with a dose of a messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine, officials told him.

‘You know how you went in for the flu shot? Well, that wasn’t a flu shot. That was a COVID-19 vaccine,’” Bouchard told The Epoch Times, recounting the meeting with superiors.

“I think, in my mind, at that point, it was like, I completely didn’t know if I trusted any people in the military,” he added.”

In addition to Bouchard, two other service members “were accidentally given a Covid vaccine” instead of a flu injection that day, Maine National Guard spokesperson Maj. Carl Lamb explained in an email to The Epoch Times. The clinic was administering both types of vaccine, which likely led to the egregious error.

“Accident” or not, the incident is inexcusable. Especially considering the recent data that has been revealed about the dangerous and deadly adverse reactions caused by the experimental mRNA vaccines – particularly among otherwise healthy young adults. Just this week, the surgeon general of Florida announced new guidelines about the vaccine that show the jab causes a stunning 84% increase in cardiac-related death among 18-39-year-old men. The state of Florida now officially recommends that young males refrain from receiving the mRNA vaccine completely.

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One American town takes war against homeschooling to enraging extremes

Homeschooling and homeschoolers have been under attack across America in a number of ways over recent years.

Despite those barrages, the industry is growing hugely.

But there have been special exams demanded, invasive interviews, physical exams, odd requirements for homeschool teachers and much more at times. In one case state officials rejected a college diploma submitted by a homeschool teacher because it was written in Latin.

Now one Maine town is going to an extreme – an attempt to bar those connected with homeschooling from serving on a local public board, the school board.

According to the Institute for Justice, “Town officials in Dexter, Maine are considering a proposal that bars homeschool co-op leaders and private-school employees from serving on the local school board.”

While supporters for the barrier claim it would prevent conflicts of interest, the IJ reported it actually is “retaliatory.”

The IJ noted that last summer, Dexter voters recalled school board member Alisha Ames, leader of the town’s only homeschool co-op, Power Source Ministries.

“The recall came after a campaign by the Facebook group ‘Stop the Power Trip,’ which accused her of putting the co-op ahead of public schools,” the IJ noted. “Even if the recall of Ames was warranted, the proposed ordinance goes much further. Instead of addressing one individual, it would bar homeschool co-op leaders and private-school employees from serving on the school board, shutting out many other residents from their right to serve their community.”

The backlash already has begun. State Rep. Heidi Sampson, of the Maine Education Initiative, warned town officials in a letter they are refusing to abide by First Amendment precedents, and that “exposes the town to significant liability.”

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