Andy O’Brien, the communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO, a statewide federation of 160 local unions, posted on social media, suggesting Democrats who refuse to support Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner should face execution after a “revolution.”
O’Brien shared a link to a the Hill opinion piece titled, “I’m a Democratic Strategist. I Won’t Stay Silent About Graham Platner,” by Democrat strategist Laurie A. Watkins. Watkins wrote that a career spent fighting for Democratic causes does not mean blindly supporting every candidate with a “D” by their name.
O’Brien’s response was brutal, saying political consultants like Watkins would be “first up against the wall when the revolution comes.”
Before supporting Platner, O’Brien was known for publicly calling out people he accused of holding extremist or neo-Nazi views.
After facing backlash, O’Brien said the post was meant as a joke referencing a science fiction novel, not a call for violence. He apologized to anyone offended and said he never intended to suggest harming people over their political views.
“That’s not what I said. I was making a joke about people from away Mainesplaining our state because they summered here. It was a reference to a quote in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams,” O’Brien wrote. “That said, I apologize to anyone who is upset by this stupid joke. I never meant to imply any violent intent against people I disagree with politically. I deplore political violence.”
O’Brien’s comments come as Platner faces growing scrutiny over his past behavior. A bunch of old posts from Platner’s former Reddit account recently resurfaced, showing graphic sexual comments, political rants, and remarks about military veterans. Even though many of those posts were deleted, archived copies were saved and have since been verified by multiple news outlets.
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