Graham Platner ‘Nazi’ tattoo: What is SS Totenkopf? Maine Senate hopeful faces fresh row after Reddit posts

Now, an old video of Platner with a tattoo of SS Totenkopf – a Nazi symbol of a death skull associated with the unit heads of Hitler’s infamous Schutzstaffel, has surfaced. Platner said Wednesday he was not aware of the Nazi links and vowed to get it removed.

The row originated after an old video of Graham Platner was shared by his campaign team, and the tattoo’s resemblance to the SS Totenkopf was noticed by many viewers. It west especially viral after it was played during one of Platner’s appearances on the Pod Save America podcast Monday.

The tattoo showed a Nazi skull and crossbones – similar to the SS Totenkopf – the unit heads in charge of Hitler’s concentration camps and the direct authority in the execution of the Holocaust.

Here’s the viral video where the Senate hopeful is seen dancing shirtless in what appears to be a local bar.

Notably, this is the second controversy to have hit the Democratic Party’s Senate candidate in Maine over the past week. He first came under fire earlier this month after his old Reddit posts resurfaced on social media.

Graham Planter Reddit Controversy Explained

A series of posts were made on Reddit by Graham Platner under his username P-Hustle between 2013 and 2021. In the posts, Platner allegedly used offensive slurs against people with disability and referred to himself as a “communist.” He also said “all police officers are bastards” and called rural Americans “racist and stupid.”

Platner, a former US Marine and an oyster farmer, issued an apology on the posts and said that they were made to get a “rise out of people.”

“That was me trying to get a rise out of people on the Internet,” he explained on Pod Save America. “Those weren’t even reflective of my opinions back then.”

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He also shared the Reddit posts from the X handle of his campaign.

Platner To Remove Nazi Tattoo

When a row again erupted over the alleged Nazi tattoo, Platner issued a statement saying that he was not aware that it resembled a Nazi symbol and vowed to get it removed. He also revealed that he got the tattoo while drinking with fellow Marines in Croatia.

“It was not until I started hearing from reporters and DC insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,” he told POLITICO. “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.”