Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner (D.) suggested that legendary "American Sniper" Chris Kyle shot innocent civilians in Iraq in order to inflate his kill numbers. Platner also bristled at the idea of the former Navy SEAL and his platoon being dubbed "heroes."
Platner, running for Senate against Sen. Susan Collins (R.), lashed out at Kyle and members of the SEAL's "Task Unit Bruiser" in a May 2024 podcast interview on Green Beret Chronicle Show in which Platner, a former Marine, discussed his deployment in 2006 to Ramadi, a hotbed of insurgent activity during the Iraq war. In the interview, Platner—who did not belong to an elite Special Forces unit like the SEALs—took issue with public portrayals of Task Unit Bruiser and Kyle as heroes of the Iraq war.
"[Kyle's] story is about how many people he was shooting certainly tracked with the behavior I witnessed [in Ramadi]," said Platner. "It's relatively easy to get high numbers like that if you're a little less discriminating in your fire than, say, a more professional unit would be."
Platner claimed members of Task Unit Bruiser, led by then Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink, shot unarmed civilians from their position at the Government Center in Ramadi, where American forces were stationed throughout 2006.
"I almost felt like there was like a weird practical joke being played on me by the war that, like all these years later, I'm like, having to like... People are telling me like 'Oh, look how great this guy is, these guys are amazing heroes,' this whole incredible thing," said Platner. "The paragon of leadership, and I'm just sitting there like, 'Am I living in like an alternate reality?' Because this is the exact opposite of my experience."
Kyle is widely regarded as a war hero and is believed to be the most gifted sniper in the Iraq war, earning the nickname "the Devil of Ramadi" for the dozens of Iraqi insurgents he killed during the Battle of Ramadi. Kyle, who published his autobiography American Sniper in 2012, was murdered at his Texas ranch in 2013 by a former Marine whom Kyle had taken under his wing while the man suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kyle's autobiography was the basis for Clint Eastwood's celebrated 2014 film of the same name, starring Bradley Cooper, which was nominated for six Academy Awards.
Platner suggested in other remarks on the podcast that he did not know who Kyle was until after he read Kyle's autobiography, raising questions about how Platner knew Kyle was "less discriminating" about who he shot in Iraq.
"I didn't know who these guys were," Platner said of Task Unit Bruiser.
Platner is the loudest voice to make the allegations against the Bruisers, though a Substacker named Seth Hettena built on Platner's allegations (made originally on Reddit, in now-deleted comments, made around 2021) by interviewing more ex-Marines in 2024. There was never an official investigation into the Marines' allegations, and Willink has strenuously denied any improper conduct and threatened to sue Hettena.
Platner has given inconsistent statements about his own military service. In a recent New York Times interview, Platner blamed Collins, the Republican incumbent, for voting to send him to Iraq.
"Susan Collins voted to send me to Iraq," he said.
But the timeline doesn't match up with Platner's military service. The Senate voted to authorize the Iraq war in 2002 on a 77-23 vote, with Collins joining the bipartisan majority. Platner joined the Marines in 2004 and wrote on Reddit in 2020 that he did so because he "wanted to have an adventure and kill some people."
"Joined up in '04, did Fallujah and Ramadi, and managed both. Hell of an excellent experience," Platner wrote.
Platner has heaped praise on Hamas while criticizing American warfighters in his Reddit posts. In 2014, he remarked on a video of a Hamas raid that "this was a damn fine looking and successful raid against a superior opponent."
"I dig it," wrote Platner, Jewish Insider reported.
In 2019, Platner criticized an American soldier seen in a video being shot by Taliban fighters.
"This video never gets old. Dumb motherf—er didn't deserve to live," Platner wrote. "At least his stupidity and fat ass wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban's part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home, he managed to make every possible shit decision possible when it comes to small unit combat."
In a 2020 Reddit post, Platner remarked that the G.I. Bill, which pays for military veterans to attend college, should be granted to the general public as well. Platner's argument was that "most" members of the American military "have barely made a sacrifice," and so were not more deserving of government-funded college than other Americans.
Platner's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
