“One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person,” she said. “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person.”
That night in late 2021, she said she had exchanged text messages with him and told him not to come over, saying she wasn’t in the mood for company. Later that evening, she said she realized when she heard a sound on the stairs that he had let himself into her house, which was unlocked.
Platner came up the stairs, Racicot said, to where she was on a couch. He got on top of her and kept grabbing her, she said, while she repeatedly told him to stop and that she wasn’t interested. Racicot said she smelled alcohol on his breath and believed he was “almost blackout drunk” because Platner ignored her protests and continued to grab her after knocking over an antique sewing kit, spilling small needles everywhere.
“I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,’” she recalled.
“And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here,” she said.
Racicot said she tried to separate herself from Platner by telling him she couldn’t be in that room anymore, after which he followed her to her bedroom and had sex with her against her will. She said he also ejaculated inside of her despite her telling him not to, as she was not using birth control at the time.
She went to clean herself up, she said, and when she returned, Platner had fallen asleep. She contemplated waking him up to kick him out, but worried he could hurt someone driving in the state he was in.
The following morning, she said, Platner tried to put his arm around her and she pushed him away. She said she asked him whether he remembered what had happened the previous night; according to Racicot, Platner said he didn’t remember. Racicot said she told him to leave and never contact her again.
Racicot said she waited several weeks until she got her period to ensure she wasn’t pregnant, then sent Platner a private message on Instagram saying that the encounter was not consensual and she did not want to hear from him ever again. Racicot had no further contact with him after that, she said. Racicot said she later deleted all her texts and social media correspondence with Platner as she tried to move on from the assault, and said she has not been able to recover the Instagram messages she sent him about the incident.
In the weeks after the alleged assault, Racicot said she considered going to the police but struggled with shock and confusion about what had happened to her and did not file a police report. Even as time passed, she said she felt uncomfortable potentially telling a police officer about such a personal experience, and feared retaliation from Platner. At first, she confided only in her therapist, who she continues to see.
Racicot showed POLITICO recent emails with her therapist in which Racicot explained she was talking to the media about her relationship with Platner and the “sa/rape,” using an abbreviation for sexual assault. In the message, Racicot was not ready to go public and was seeking help corroborating her account in conversations she was having with reporters on condition of anonymity. Her therapist responded that Racicot shouldn’t have to speak publicly about a traumatic incident in order to be believed, without referencing details of any particular incident. The therapist, who POLITICO agreed not to name at her request, declined to comment when reached on Monday.
Racicot also shared details about the alleged assault to the man she dated after Platner, who she began dating in 2022. The man, who was granted anonymity out of concern for his personal privacy, told POLITICO that Racicot had told him in bits and pieces about a bad experience with Platner before confiding the full details of what had happened in 2023. His account of what Racicot told him about the incident matched what Racicot told POLITICO.
Racicot shared with POLITICO a series of private Facebook messages she exchanged with an acquaintance in 2023, about a year and a half after the alleged assault and well before Platner launched his political career, in which she cautioned the acquaintance against getting involved with Platner. In the messages, Racicot said she had “ended up in a bad situation with him,” describing Platner as “consensually careless” and saying he “doesn’t listen to you when drunk.” Reached by POLITICO, the acquaintance said she received the messages but declined to comment; POLITICO granted her anonymity at her request to protect her privacy in her Maine community.
People are crying for “average” people to be part of government, this is an average person we got from Maine and now many are getting upset. People who haven’t had anything happen that could be construed as scandalous from their high school prom to now, where a story like this could credibly be denied, are shut-ins like me who aren’t interested in dating and wouldn’t seriously think to run in politics, or are well-educated with above-average wealth.
Your argument is that there are so many rapists amongst average people that we have no choice but to elect them?
There are a lot of people who date and don't rape people.
Platner only has himself to blame here. He wanted to be a champion of workers rights? He shouldn't have been in so many situations where he forced himself on women.
Yeah, this woman magically knew that Platner was going to run for office years and years ago when she advised her friend to not set someone up with Platner because he doesn't respect consent.
I've been on the internet long enough to know that the knee-jerk reaction is to not believe rape victims. People in general don't believe victims.
And you want me to believe that a man with a history of mercenary work in Afghanistan, past comments that blame rape victims for being raped and talking about how much he enjoyed killing brown people, and other sexual assault accusations is completely innocent here?
If shes willing to bring her face to the media why not at this point bring it to court? Or the emails with the therapist, why not show that? With message headers to prove they’re real.
Platner should sue her at this point and persist.
Gee whiz, why don't more rape victims come forward when supposed allies treat them like this?
With all the vitriol in the comments on Lemmy alone, is it any wonder why these people want to stay anonymous?
You're nitpicking a rape victim's phrasing about the rape she endured. YOU are part of the reason rape victims are afraid to come forward. Look at how you're talking about this.
She did not delete all evidence. She deleted her messages to Platner. There's a difference and it's disgusting that you're pushing misinformation in order to prop up a rapist.
Racicot was one of several women who spoke to the New York Times for a previous story in June about Platner’s “unsettling” behavior with women he dated.
She told Politico she hesitated to make her claim public because she had a “huge moral conflict” between supporting Platner’s politics and not supporting him as a person. She also said she did not share the sexual assault claims with the New York Times for their story because she did not want to be known as a rape victim.
Racicot told Politico she had previously had consensual relations with Platner, until a night in 2021 when he allegedly let himself into her unlocked house and forced himself on her. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and that she believed he was “almost blackout drunk”.
According to Politico, Racicot accused Platner of having sex with her against her will and ejaculating inside her after she told him not to. There was no police report filed at the time.
He should end the campaign.