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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., says she needs time to review new reporting surrounding Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner before giving her thoughts on new allegations of aggressive behavior.
“This all kind of just came out. I’ve been doing legislative business on the floor, so I need to dig into everything further before commenting on it,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“I don’t want to speak before I’ve dug into a lot of, you know, to before I’ve dug into what’s out there. So, I just want to be respectful of that man,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez’s caution comes as the New York Times released a report on Thursday, detailing the experience of multiple women who had been romantically involved with Platner in past years.
SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT
Some of them recounted allegations of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.
Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the military, told Fox News Digital that he has “been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD.”
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self-medicated with alcohol and was far from a perfect boyfriend,” Platner said in a statement.
Lyndsey Fifield, an ex-girlfriend of Platner, recounted another incident when Platner reportedly pushed her into a bedroom and twisted her arm behind her back before locking her in the room. She later was able to leave after falling asleep and waking after some time had passed.
Besides the rape visualizations, Platner would “fantasize about killing people he deemed a threat,” according to the Times’ conversation with Fifield – who briefly spoke with Fox News Digital on the phone, but declined to further comment on the story.
Fifield also recounted how Platner would poke fun at his chest tattoo of a Totenkopf, which was used by Nazi death camp guards, and told the paper that Platner explained he and other members of his military unit chose it because of parallels between them and the Schutzstaffel — in that “they were a death unit… killers,” which appears to contradict his narrative that he did not know the tattoo was associated with the Nazi emblem.
Notably, Ocasio-Cortez has yet to give Platner, a fellow progressive, her endorsement as he looks to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION
The new reporting adds to a growing pile of concerns surrounding Platner’s candidacy.
Platner has received criticism for making off-color remarks on sexual abuse, race and terror, for a tattoo associated with Nazi imagery and for potentially messaging with several women outside his marriage in inappropriate ways.
Among other resurfaced comments, Platner, in one Reddit post, once blamed rape victims for failing to protect themselves.
“How about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not so f—ed up when they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?” Platner wrote in 2013.
‘HE HATED WOMEN’: EXPLOSIVE ABUSE, NEW NAZI TATTOO ALLEGATIONS FROM EXES ROCK PLATNER’S CAMPAIGN
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Platner, who looks poised to take the Democratic nomination to challenge Collins, R-Maine, met with senators earlier this week, reassuring them about his prospective candidacy.
Maine will hold its Senate primaries next Tuesday.
Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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