Politics

Graham Platner’s new campaign manager leaves operation after joining just days ago

Published

2 days ago

October 27, 2025

Graham Platner’s campaign manager is stepping down after less than a week on the job, the latest departure on a campaign that has seen several high-profile shake-ups in recent weeks as it attempts to fend off a string of controversies.

The move, which was first reported by Axious, comes as the Maine Senate candidate has attracted a wave of criticism for troves of unearthed Reddit posts in which he endorsed political violence, downplayed concerns about sexual assault in the military and self-identified as a communist.

“Graham is a dear friend,” Kevin Brown, the former campaign manager, told Blue Light News in a statement Monday. “I started this campaign Tuesday but found out Friday we have a baby on the way. Graham deserves someone who is 100% in on his race and we want to lean into this new experience as a family so it was best we step back sooner than later so Graham can get the Manager he deserves.”

The progressive oyster farmer running to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins has attempted to turn the page on the since-deleted comments, explaining in a video that the comments reflected his mental state following his military deployment to Afghanistan and that they are not representative of his present views.

Blue Light News reported on Thursday that Brown, who has worked for Democrats like Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren, joined the campaign as manager after Genevieve McDonald, Platner’s former political director, resigned.

The campaign has also brought on an in-house attorney and hired a compliance firm tied to progressive candidates, in addition to sending non-disclosure agreements to staffers, Blue Light News previously reported.

His campaign has also been bogged down by controversy surrounding a tattoo that resembles a Nazi symbol. Platner has said that he was not aware of the symbol’s implications when he got it nearly two decades ago and has since had the tattoo covered up.

Still, Platner has continued to poll ahead of his Democratic primary opponent, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, despite the party establishment throwing its weight behind Mills’ campaign.

Politics

Progressive House candidate indicted amid Chicago-area ICE protests

Published

2 hours ago

October 29, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive Democrat running for an open House seat in Illinois, faces federal charges after attending a protest at a U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement processing center outside Chicago.

Abughazaleh, a social media influencer who recently moved to the state, was charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and assaulting or impeding an officer as they engaged in official duties at the Broadview ICE detention center.

According to the indictment, Abughazaleh was among several protesters who in September allegedly surrounded a government vehicle, banged on the hood and windows and scratched the body of the car, including etching the word “PIG” into the vehicle. The indictment also alleges the protesters broke one of the vehicle’s side mirrors and a rear windshield wiper.

Video of the encounter that day, posted by Abughazaleh, showed her and protesters placing their hands on the vehicle as the agent continued to slowly drive forward into the line of protesters, with some banging on the car.

Abughazaleh is one of the more than a dozen Democratic candidates running for Congress to fill the seat now held by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who announced earlier this year that she won’t seek reelection in 2026.

In a statement, Abughazaleh called the charges “political prosecution” and a “gross attempt to silence dissent.”

“This case is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those who dare to speak up,” Abughazaleh said, adding that the charges are “unjust.”

Other political figures named in the indictment include Catherine Sharp, a chief of staff to a Chicago alderman and a candidate for Cook County Board; Michael Rabbitt, a Chicago Democratic ward committeeman; and Brian Straw, a member of the suburban Oak Park Village board.

Sharp’s attorney, Molly Armour, called the charges “ludicrous,” saying, “we are confident that a jury of Ms. Sharp’s peers will see them for exactly what they are: an effort by the Trump administration to frighten people out of participating in protest and exercising their First Amendment rights.”

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Advocates and politicians have protested regularly outside the Broadview detention center since President Donald Trump ordered ICE agents into the city to conduct mass arrests.

Abughazaleh has previously protested outside the center, including at least once prior when she was teargassed and thrown to the ground by an ICE agent.

Following the release of the indictment, Evanston mayor Daniel Biss — who is also running for the seat — called the charges “frivolous” and accused ICE of engaging in “violent and dangerous behavior at Broadview.”

“As someone who has protested at Broadview multiple times, I know these protests are nonviolent demonstrations against the kidnapping of our neighbors,” Biss said in a statement posted on X. “Now, the Trump Administration is targeting protestors, including political candidates, in an effort to silence dissent and scare residents into submission. It won’t work.”

Shia Kapos contributed to this report.