As political violence and divisive rhetoric continue to increase in our nation, a state Senate candidate in Maine has come under fire for online posts promoting political violence.

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From Just the News:

[Graham] Platner, who’s competing in the 2026 state Democratic Party primary for the opportunity to try to unseat long-time GOP Sen. Susan Collins, wrote several Reddit posts in 2018 promoting violence as a necessary means to achieving social change, POLITICO reported Thursday.

In two of the since-deleted posts, Platner wrote that if people “expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history,” and that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.”

Platner, who is a 41-year-old former Marine and combat veteran, called himself a “communist” and said that “all” police are b-stards in other deleted posts.

These posts were reportedly deleted three months ago, shortly before Platner launched his campaign. In a statement to POLITICO, Platner didn’t deny writing the posts, although he did disavow their violent rhetoric, calling them nothing more than “dumb jokes.”

As Just the News notes, Platner is not the only Democrat hopeful to face controversy over past endorsements of violence. Jay Jones, a former state delegate running for attorney general as a Democrat in Virginia, has also faced harsh criticism over texts he sent in 2022. Jones at the time expressed, among other things, his desire to see a Republican delegate’s children die.

In the past few months, we have seen political violence reach a fever pitch in America. The last thing America needs is elected officials calling for this kind of violence. Let’s pray for God to convict both Platner and Jones, and let’s pray for His will to be done in both state’s elections!

What do you think of Platner’s comments? Share your thoughts and prayers below.

(Excerpt from Just the News. Photo Credit: Brett Jordan/Pexels)