Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s terrorist sympathies are raising alarm in Maine as he challenges Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
Platner, who has accused Israel of genocide and refused to condemn Hamas after the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, defended extremists in a post-9/11 op-ed. In the Nov. 25, 2002, Bangor Daily News piece, Platner and classmates argued that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” and complained that “every terrorist is portrayed as evil.”
The op-ed chastised the media for “incomplete coverage” of terrorist groups, even accusing Israel of playing the victim. Platner and his co-authors insisted that ending terror required understanding the “circumstances under which they were committed.” Weeks before, Platner protested President George W. Bush, shouting during his speech: “Don’t attack Iraq. If our best generals tell us not to go to war, why should we?”
Now, more than 20 years later, Platner embraces those radical views. On the campaign trail, he touts being voted “Most Likely to Start a Revolution” in high school, posing with a sign demanding freedom for Chechnya, Kosovo, and “Palestine.” Endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Platner has become a favorite of the far left.
Republicans warn his views show a dangerous pattern. And with Maine’s Senate seat critical to control of Congress, the upcoming election could be decisive.
