LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins distanced herself from a new radio ad attacking Democratic opponent Troy Jackson as a “freak” and a “creep” because “he has two kids with his cousin,” saying Wednesday that it should be taken down.
The spot, airing on Maine radio in the form of a country song, is from the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republicans. Among the lyrics in the jingle: “If he’ll screw his own family, he’ll screw yours too.”
Collins told reporters during a campaign appearance in Lewiston that she “had nothing to do with that ad.” She added that federal law bans her from coordinating with the super PAC, but she has publicly called for it to be removed.
Previously, in a Politico story in September, Collins referenced Jackson's relationship with a second cousin.
“I’m not going to bring up the fact that the mother of his two children is his second cousin,” Collins said. “I don’t know whether people know that or not.”
In an op-ed published Wednesday, Lana Pelletier, Jackson's partner, criticized the radio ad and other attacks on her family by Collins and her supporters, saying she never thought they “would stoop this low.”
“Sen. Collins has been quick to demand respect and decency for herself. My family deserved the same,” Pelletier said.
“I am not a helpless woman who needs politicians to tell the world what happened in my own life. And I am not a punchline or a caricature of where I come from,” she added.
Jackson, a former state lawmaker and lumberjack, and Pelletier are longtime partners who have two sons together.
Jackson's campaign manager, Dan Gottlieb, said Wednesday that Collins owes Jackson's family an apology.
“Susan Collins herself spread these disgusting personal attacks on Troy's family,” he said. “Now she wants Mainers to believe she's above the very attacks she helped spread.”
Democrats are hoping for a win by Jackson over the incumbent Collins as the party tries to retake the Senate.
Also Wednesday, Collins lamented how negative much campaign advertising has been during this election cycle.
“This race is unique in Maine history in the number of personal attacks,” Collins said.
Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
Sen. Susan Collins (R) looks to Troy Jackson (D) as he answers a question during the final Maine U.S. Senate debate in Bangor, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Gregory A. Rec/Portland Press Herald via AP, Pool)
Sen. Susan Collins speaks to reporters following a campaign stop Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Wedding rings were exchanged, and photos of a smiling bride and well-dressed groom made it look like these were legitimate marriages.
But federal authorities argued Wednesday that the ceremonies were part of an elaborate, decade-long marriage fraud ring that netted a half-dozen people in Massachusetts millions of dollars. Prosecutors charged six people, including the alleged ringleader Jennifer Gonzalez, with conducting as many as 20 marriages to help immigrants obtain legal status.
The other five were allegedly paid by Gonzalez to take part in the marriages — several of them taking part in multiple nuptials. Each marriage cost an immigrant from $38,000 to $40,000. All face charges including harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud.
“What an affront the alleged conduct revealed here today must be to those who play by the rules," U.S. Attorney Leah Foley told reporters. "To see a for-profit business whose sole purpose is helping people cheat and skip the line by simply paying for it must be so offensive and disheartening to those who follow our country’s laws.”
Five of the six were arrested Wednesday morning. A sixth defendant is currently in state prison serving a sentence for a firearms crime.
“Ms. Gonzalez got rich off selling the American Dream all the while investing her money in another country,” Foley said, detailing how Gonzalez allegedly used profits from the marriage ring to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic. She is an American citizen.
An attorney for Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, Massachusetts, had no comment. Gonzalez made an initial appearance Wednesday, and a hearing will be held Friday to determine if she will be held in detention while the case is pending.
The arrests are the latest effort to crack down on marriage fraud and come as the Trump administration has increased restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and reduced the avenues available for people to enter the country or become a citizen.
In August, 11 people were charged with participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to help hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtain green cards through sham marriages to U.S. citizens. In that scheme, American citizens were paid as much as $30,000 to enter into bogus marriages with immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status. The decade-long scheme netted tens of millions of dollars.
Three years ago, a similar scheme was prosecuted in Massachusetts. Marcialito Biol Benitez, a 49-year-old Philippine national living in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. Benitez admitted operating a large-scale marriage fraud agency in which he arranged marriages between foreign nationals and American citizens.
In the latest case, prosecutors said the investigation was ongoing. They allege in the court documents that some of the defendants lied on applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by falsely claiming they never had been married. Gonzalez is also accused of spending $120,000 she received in SNAP benefits. Prosecutors also accused the defendants of engaging in housing and unemployment fraud.
None of the immigrants who entered into the marriages have been charged.
“Marriage fraud undermines the processes that ensure honest, lawful individuals can marry United States citizens and enjoy everything the United States has to offer to them,” John Soares, assistant special agent in charge, Homeland Security Investigations in New England, told reporters. “Fraudsters, like the individuals arrested today, make that process more difficult.”
Boston, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley is joined by John Soars, assistant special agent in charge Homeland Security Investigations in New England and Shawn Saucier, Northeast Regional Chief, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to announce the arrest of six people for allegedly arranging sham marriages over the past decade that netted them millions of dollars during a news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)
U.S. Attorney Leah Foley is joined by John Soars, assistant special agent in charge Homeland Security Investigations in New England and Shawn Saucier, Northeast Regional Chief, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to announce the arrest of six people for allegedly arranging sham marriages over the past decade that netted them millions of dollars during a news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)
