Platner will instead lead a veterans’ march after the rally
Organizers of a Labor Day rally in Ellsworth, Maine, have pulled Graham Platner from the event’s speaking lineup, his first planned major public appearance since he ended his Democratic Senate campaign in July.
Platner won the party’s nomination in June but dropped out of the race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine after Politico reported that a former girlfriend said he had sexually assaulted her. Platner has denied the allegations.
Two women who have accused Platner — one of sexual assault and one of domestic abuse — urged rally organizers not to let him speak. Organizers said Wednesday that the planned speech was drawing negative media attention.
Instead, Platner will lead a veterans’ march after the rally in Ellsworth, near his hometown of Sullivan. He had been expected to address the rally on labor history and the importance of unions in the United States.