A tattoo artist lands in an unexpected role in Maine's Senate race

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Graham Platner was looking for a cover-up.

Nearly 20 years ago, the Maine Democrat drunkenly selected a skull and crossbones design while out on leave with his fellow Marines in Croatia. It wasn’t until several weeks into his campaign for a key U.S. Senate seat that Platner says he discovered that the design was recognized as a Nazi symbol.

Rather than wait through multiple sessions of laser removal, Platner called a friend to help him get rid of it.

“It was a phone call like: ‘Hey, I have a tattoo. I found out it’s something I don’t want, can you help me cover it up?’” Mischa Ostberg, an artist based in Ellsworth, Maine, told The Associated Press in an interview.

Ostberg, a self-proclaimed “baby tattooer” who has been licensed to ink for just two years, was eager to help. For Ostberg, the request wasn't abnormal — covering up a design is a common practice in the tattoo world — and Platner's willingness to take action when learning about the image's connection to Nazis was reflective of the friend Ostberg had known for years.

It also solidified why Ostberg supported Platner's campaign, saying his past mistake reflects that “he’s a regular person like all of us" and hasn't been perfectly vetted by Democratic leaders.

Platner has faced increased scrutiny surrounding now-deleted posts he made on Reddit where he dismissed military sexual assaults, questioned Black patrons’ gratuity habits and criticized police officers and rural Americans. Other posts showed Platner using homophobic slurs and making anti-LGBTQ+ jokes between 2018 and 2021.

Yet Platner maintains he had never been questioned about the tattoo’s connections to Nazi symbols in the 20 years he has had it. He said that after serving three tours as a Marine, he later went to enlist in the Army, which requires clearing an examination for tattoos of hate symbols.

“We all make mistakes and we don’t have teams to cover it up for us,” Ostberg said.

Finding a design was incredibly tricky, Ostberg said. The left side of Platner’s chest is filled with lots of black ink. Ostberg sketched out a design using a Sharpie.

It took several hours to finish, resulting in a Celtic knot now covering the majority of the skull and crossbones with a dog jumping out on top of the image. Ostberg said they were inspired by Platner's Scottish heritage and love of his two dogs.

Yet Ostberg acknowledged that the response to the design has not been kind. Many have ridiculed the newly covered design, while others have questioned whether Platner really covered the symbol up.

“I know a lot of people have said some honestly pretty brutal stuff. I’m trying not to look at it too much, because it just really hurts the ego and the creative part of you," Ostberg said. “But I tried. I actually put in a lot of time and effort, even if other people can’t see it. I tried to make it personable to the person I know.”

Platner is running to flip a U.S. Senate seat long held by Republican Susan Collins. As a first-time candidate, he must first survive the state’s Democratic primary, which includes Gov. Janet Mills, who has the backing of Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and prominent left-leaning political groups.

“I didn’t really want necessarily so many people to be talking about this,” Ostberg said of the tattoo. “The important thing is that people are talking about, this movement.”