Maine Senate candidate Platner says tattoo recognized as Nazi symbol has been covered

OGUNQUIT, Maine (AP) — His U.S. Senate campaign under fire, Maine Democrat Graham Platner said 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.

The revelation Wednesday that the tattoo had been hastily covered up is just the latest bizarre twist that the high-stakes Senate race had taken in just the past 10 days. The unfolding drama has so far included a sweep of old internet posts, a drunken video of Platner in his underwear, and now the urgently edited tattoo.

Amid the frenzy, another Democratic candidate released his own shirtless photo to show off his arm tattoo of former President Barack Obama's presidential campaign logo.

Platner launched his campaign in August, but the intensity of the race ratcheted up last Monday when Gov. Janet Mills announced her entry into a race Democrats feel they must have if they are going to reclaim a Senate majority. Her entry had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is looking to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has held the Senate seat for nearly 30 years.

Shortly after Mills jumped in, news began trickling out from Platner's past.

Platner, an oyster farmer who is running as a progressive, pushed back, saying the onslaught demonstrated that he wasn’t the preferred candidate of establishment Democrats. Platner also accused his political opponents of attempting to “destroy my life" and vowed that he wasn't going to be scared off from the campaign.

“All this is doing is galvanizing my commitment to this project,” he said.

Platner's campaign initially said he would remove the tattoo, yet Platner said he later 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.

The new tattoo, completed late Tuesday, now is a Celtic knot with a dog-like creature splayed in the middle of it. The animal has four gangly legs and an elongated head with a curly tongue spiraling out. The image is mostly filled in with black ink, but the Celtic knot is green.

In a moment unlikely to be replicated in any campaign, let alone a contest for a U.S. Senate seat, Platner agreed to take his shirt off during an interview with WGME-TV, a Maine outlet based in Portland, on Wednesday to show off the new design. He also lifted his shirt to display it in a video he shared on social media in which he complained that it was distracting from issues that matter to him and to Maine voters.

Platner said he had never been questioned about the tattoo's connections to Nazi symbols in the 20 years he has had it. He said that after serving three tours as a Marine, he later went to enlist in the Army, which requires an examination for tattoos of hate symbols.

“I also passed a full background check to receive a security clearance to join the Ambassador to Afghanistan’s security detail,” Platner said.

Questions about the tattoo come after the recent discovery of Platner’s now-deleted online statements that included dismissing military sexual assaults, questioning Black patrons’ gratuity habits and criticizing police officers and rural Americans. More old Reddit posts surfaced Wednesday, with The Advocate reporting that Platner used homophobic slurs and made anti-LGBTQ+ jokes between 2018 and 2021.

Platner has apologized for those comments, saying they were made after he left the Army in 2012, when he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

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. Another primary rival, Jordan Wood, a onetime chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., said Wednesday that Platner should drop out because “Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity” and Platner "no longer can.”

The National Republican Senate Committee, meanwhile, was fundraising off the controversy on Collins' behalf.

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, adding he sees it as "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.”

During a rally in the southern Maine town of Ogunquit on Wednesday night, Platner again addressed his regret about the tattoo and the recent concerns about his history on social media.

His mother, Leslie Harlow, who introduced him, also acknowledged it has been a rough week for her son, but that she has faith in his campaign to get through it. The event packed a 500 person-capacity theater and included frequent raucous applause.

“I am ashamed of things I once said. But I am not ashamed of who I am today,” Platner said from the stage before a round of applause.

Outside the rally, David Tufts of Eliot, Maine, said he felt Platner has done a good job addressing the week’s controversies. Tufts said he is a supporter of Platner because of his stance on issues such as increasing taxes on the wealthy and keeping the nation out of war.

“I feel like he has done a pretty good job of explaining the Reddit history, the tattoo. I feel like I kind of understand where he was coming from,” Tufts said, adding that it “doesn’t increase my faith in him,” but he’s still on board with the campaign.

Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

A crowd watches as Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

In this photo provided by WGME, Graham Platner, a democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, points to a cover-up tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Portland, Maine. (WGME via AP)

In this photo provided by WGME, Graham Platner, a democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, shows a cover-up tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Portland, Maine. (WGME via AP)

Senate candidate Graham Platner acknowledges the large crowd that attended Platner's town hall, Sept. 25, 2025, at Bunker Brewing in Portland, Maine. (Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald via AP)

Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Franco Center in Lewiston on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Libby Kenny/Sun Journal via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was only a matter of time before Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood hit a grand slam.

But an inside-the-park shot, like the one Wood smashed in Tuesday’s 9-6 victory over the New York Mets?

“I didn’t think it would be like this,” Wood said. “That was a fun way to get it.”

Down 5-0, the Nationals loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning against Mets starter Nolan McLean. Wood hit a first-pitch sweeper to the opposite field, where it glanced off the leaping Nick Morabito’s arm and bounded into center.

“When I saw that, I kind of just knew it was a full-on sprint home,” the 23-year-old Wood said of his 53rd career home run. “That’s probably why my eyes got big.”

Center fielder Tyrone Taylor braced himself before running into the wall before looking at Morabito, who pointed to the carom before giving chase himself.

“He lost track of the baseball,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He went after and then he didn’t know where the ball was. That’s a tough break there.”

Wood scampered around the bases in 15.15 seconds and slid headfirst across the plate well ahead of the throw for his first career grand slam and 13th homer of the season.

It was the ninth inside-the-park grand slam in the majors since 1994. The previous one was hit by Toronto’s Raimel Tapia on July 22, 2022.

“When they get over the fence, obviously I think James enjoys that more so he doesn’t have to run as hard or as far,” first-year Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “But that was pretty cool. I think everyone was pretty fired up, talking some smack that he can’t hit it over the fence.”

The Nationals have two inside-the-park grand slams since the franchise moved to Washington in 2005. Michael A. Taylor hit the other Sept. 8, 2017, at home against Philadelphia.

Three of the four inside-the-park grand slams this century were hit at Nationals Park. Philadelphia’s Aaron Altherr connected for one at Washington on Sept. 25, 2015.

Now, Wood has joined that small club.

“It’s probably the biggest smile I’ve seen on his face since I’ve gotten to know him,” Butera said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Washington Nationals' Drew Millas, right, celebrates as the Nationals' James Wood slides into home on a inside the park grand slam home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (7) watches Washington Nationals' James Wood head home on a inside-the-park grand slam during the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' Drew Millas, right, celebrates as the Nationals' James Wood slides into home on a inside the park grand slam home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' James Wood hits an inside the park grand slam home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Nationals' James Wood slides into home as New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens waits for the throw on an inside the park gland slam home run during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)