Dem Senate nominee admits ‘I take responsibility’ after police report alleges he broke down door, punched man
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson has acknowledged getting into a violent altercation with another man nearly 40 years ago, after a Fort Kent, Maine, police report from 1988 resurfaced detailing the incident. Jackson said he "took responsibility for it then" and does so "now", while insisting he has never been violent towards his partner, Lana Pelletier, or any other woman. The Republican National Senatorial Committee has seized on the report, urging senior Democrats to condemn Jackson as he seeks to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in a contest that could help decide control of the Senate.
According to the Bangor Daily News, which first obtained the report, Jackson, then 19, went to a Fort Kent home in the early hours of 12 March 1988, kicked down a door after being told to leave, and struck a man, cutting his face. The report also alleged Jackson pushed Pelletier and that she considered seeking a "cease harassment" order, though no record of such an order was found and Pelletier has disputed the account. Court records show Jackson agreed to pay the man $50 to settle the matter, and the underlying case file has since been destroyed under Maine's records-retention rules; a background check found no other criminal record for Jackson.
- 1988 police report alleges Jackson broke down a door, punched a man
- Jackson admits the fight, denies ever being violent towards women
- NRSC urges Democrats to condemn him amid key Maine Senate race
Full account
Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee, Troy Jackson, has said he accepts responsibility for a fight that took place when he was 19, after reports highlighted a 1988 Fort Kent police record alleging that he forced his way into a home and assaulted another man. Jackson is seeking to unseat Republican senator Susan Collins in a contest viewed as important to control of the US Senate.
According to the Bangor Daily News’s account of the police report and witness material, Jackson arrived at the property shortly before 2am on 12 March 1988. The records reportedly alleged that, after being told to leave, he kicked in a door, seized a man by the throat and struck him, leaving a cut caused when the man’s glasses were hit. A friend was said to have intervened to stop the confrontation. The reported dispute concerned Lana Pelletier, Jackson’s long-term partner.
Jackson told Fox News Digital that the incident did not represent his subsequent life. He said he had accepted responsibility at the time and continued to do so, while firmly denying ever being violent towards Pelletier or any other woman. The police record, as described by the Bangor Daily News, also said Pelletier told an officer that Jackson had pushed her after the incident and that she intended to pursue anti-harassment paperwork. Pelletier has disputed the attributed remarks, saying she does not recall making them, considers them inaccurate, and describes Jackson as a caring partner and father over the decades since.
Republican campaign organisations have used the report to attack Jackson and pressed senior Democrats to disavow him. The National Republican Senatorial Committee described the allegations as unacceptable, while the Republican National Committee compared Jackson to Graham Platner, the previous Democratic nominee who withdrew amid separate allegations he denied. Fox News Digital also placed the controversy in the context of polling which showed a very close Collins-Jackson race. Jackson’s response, however, centres on the age of the incident, his acceptance of responsibility for the fight, and his denial of abuse against women.
Where outlets differ
Both supplied reports rely on the Bangor Daily News’s reporting of the 1988 police record and present Jackson’s later statement. Source 1 gives more space to the alleged wording in the witness statement, Pelletier’s response and the NRSC’s effort to tag individual Democratic figures. Source 2 adds wider electoral context, including Jackson’s replacement of Graham Platner, Collins’s position as an incumbent and a Fox News poll, and foregrounds attacks from both the RNC and NRSC. Source 2 also explicitly mentions the report’s reference to Jackson and Pelletier being second cousins; this is not developed in Source 1.
More coverage
- Fox News — Resurfaced assault report puts Dem Senate nominee in GOP crosshairs: 'Graham Platner 2.0'