Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has come to the defense of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner as he faces public backlash over an apparent Nazi tattoo and his past disparagement of homosexuals.

Platner has attracted attention as an outsider candidate in the Maine Democratic primary and has carved out a lead over Gov. Janet Mills, D-Me. 

“He went through a dark period in his life. I suspect that Graham Platner is not the only American to have gone through a dark period,” he told "The Axios Show." But what he did was, he has expressed his darkness on the internet, probably not a brilliant thing to do, all right, and he said things that are stupid, things that were hurtful. He has apologized for it."

Platner drew scrutiny over his skull and crossbones tattoo. The symbol is an SS Totenkopf, though some outlets have opined that it merely resembles the symbol. Platner has insisted he got the tattoo while drunk and didn't know about it's links to the Nazis, according to the Maine State Press.

He has also admitted to using the word "gay" in a disparaging way in old Reddit posts, The Hill reported.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.