Ex-girlfriend accuses Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of "stealthing"

An ex-girlfriend has accused embattled Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner of removing condoms during sex without her consent, the latest in a string of major misconduct allegations against the Democrat.

Lyndsey Fifield, 41, who dated Platner in the Washington, D.C., area, told The Washington Post that he repeatedly removed protection when they were intimate during their relationship, which lasted from 2013 to 2015.

“He would pull condoms off,” she said in an interview with the paper. “He would do it in a sneaky way. He wouldn’t tell me.”

The campaign told the Post that Fifield’s accusation is “categorically false and politically motivated.” It also reportedly noted that Fifield, who has worked in conservative politics, supported Brett Kavanaugh when he was accused of sexual assault ahead of his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Independent has contacted the Platner campaign for comment.

Platner’s alleged behavior in these situations, known as “stealthing,” is considered sexual assault in multiple countries, and it is illegal in multiple U.S. states.

She alleges that Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, did so at least six times over the course of their relationship, and that she confronted him about the behavior.

“I confronted him both during and after [sex] because he knew that I was not on birth control and how dangerous that was,” Fifield told the Post.

In another interview, she told the Post: “He would act like cute about it, like ‘Oh sneaky me.’

A friend told the Post that Fifield recounted the alleged incidents with Planter shortly after the end of their relationship.

Fifield previously accused Platner of threatening physical conduct, including grabbing her by the shoulders and twisting her arm, the New York Times reported, accounts he said he “strongly disputes.”

The 41-year-old told the Post she came forward to share her additional accusation of sexual misconduct after Jenny Racicot, another ex-girlfriend of Platner, accused the Maine candidate of sexual assault stemming from an alleged 2021 incident. Platner has called Racicot’s allegation “categorically false.”

In the wake of Racicot’s allegation, Platner said he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” for his scandal-plagued grassroots Senate campaign, which shocked the Democratic establishment by defeating Maine Governor Janet Mills in the primaries.

Critics and former allies alike have urged Platner to drop out of the race against the incumbent Republican senator, Susan Collins.

“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, a prominent former backer of the Platner campaign, wrote on X on Tuesday. “In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

Platner’s rise to the national stage has been marked with scandal.

The oysterman attracted criticism for having a chest tattoo featuring what’s widely recognized as a Nazi skull and crossbones symbol.

Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 during a night of drinking in Europe while he was serving in the military and was originally unaware of its meaning. He later got the tattoo covered and modified to resemble a wolf.

The insurgent Democrat also attracted scrutiny for a series of profane Reddit posts he left prior to his time on the campaign trail, which included comments criticizing police officers and claiming Black people don’t tip.

Planter said he wrote the posts during a period of personal turmoil including a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“A lot of it isn’t even things I believed then,” Platner told the Portland Press Herald last year. “A lot of them are just stupid joke comments. I look back now and I don’t mean to be flippant, but it was just dumb stuff on the internet, and when I stopped being lonely and isolated I didn’t use that as an outlet anymore.”