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A Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Maine has apologised and removed a tattoo on his chest resembling a Nazi symbol that sparked backlash.
Graham Platner, a 41-year-old Marine Corps combat veteran and oyster farmer, said he only realised the skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembled Nazi imagery after hearing from "reporters and DC insiders".
The tattoo was visible in a video posted on social media showing Platner dancing in his underwear at his brother's wedding.
"I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that – and to insinuate that I did is disgusting," Platner said in a statement to the BBC. "I already had the tattoo covered with a new design."
The tattoo appears to resemble the Totenkopf - German for "death's head". The skull-and-crossbones symbol was used by Nazi forces during World War Two, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Platner's former political director, Genevieve McDonald, who resigned from his campaign last week, called the tattoo antisemitic.
"Maybe he didn't know it when he got it, but he got it years ago and he should have had it covered up because he knows damn well what it means," she said, according to US media reports.
Platner, who is running in a crowded Democratic primary to be his party's nominee for the Senate seat held by Republican Susan Collins, said he got the tattoo in Croatia with his fellow Marines in 2007.
He said they picked the image off the parlour wall while drinking.
"We chose a terrifying looking skull and crossbones off the wall because we were marines and skulls and crossbones are pretty standard military thing," he said.
Platner's campaign team said that military doctors had examined his tattoos and there were never any issues, as the Army does not allow people with tattoos with hate symbols to serve.
The controversy comes amid renewed scrutiny of his social media history.
Several of Platner's posts on Reddit he made years ago resurfaced last week, including remarks he made downplaying sexual assault in the military and describing himself as a communist.
Platner, who has emphasised his background as a veteran and small business owner, apologised in a video, saying he made the comments after returning from war and suffering from depression.
"It left me feeling very disillusioned, very alienated, and very isolated," he said. "And I think, like a lot of people, I went on the internet to post stupid things and get in fights and find some form of community."
Senator Bernie Sanders, one of Platner's most prominent supporters, defended him on Tuesday, saying the tattoo was chosen while he was inebriated.
"He's not the only one in America who has gone through a dark period," Sanders said. "People go through that, he has apologized for the stupid remarks, the hurtful remarks that he made, and I'm confident that he's going to run a great campaign and that he's going to win."
