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Agitators united by Chinese money, hate for America target data centers, experts warn
In 2024, climate activists in New York City protested alongside anti-Israel protesters at a rally headlined "Climate Justice Means Free Palestine." Last year, climate change celebrity icon Greta Thunberg tried to storm Israel by sea on a flotilla protesting the country's war in Gaza, yelling "Free! Free! Palestine!" when she was refused entry.
And, last week, activists from CodePink, a far-left feminist activist group that has received funds from an American expatriate, Neville Roy Singham, living in Shanghai, took a break from their rallies supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Cuba Communist Party to circulate a video on Instagram, attacking a Utah data center project backed by investor Kevin O’Leary.
What connects these causes?
Climate activists, anti-Israel protesters and other activist movements with very different agendas have become strange bedfellows united by a shared disdain for America and funding from China, according to experts who warn the trend is weakening the United States amid a rapidly accelerating AI race.
Critics say the same activist ecosystem is now targeting America’s AI infrastructure and industrial power, in a development that experts warn could undermine the United States in its technological competition with China.
The growing convergence increasingly includes communist and Islamist activist movements, and it recently extended into campaigns targeting America’s artificial intelligence data centers, with activist and environmental groups helping delay or block dozens of such projects worth billions of dollars over concerns about energy use, water consumption and environmental impact amid rising power demand.
Fox News Digital has observed many of the movements protesting side-by-side at demonstrations across the country despite their otherwise stark ideological differences.
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"What all of these protests have in common — the protests against AI data centers or the environmental protests or the protest against Israel — is that anti-American trend within them," Hudson Institute fellow Zineb Riboua told Fox News Digital.
"Climate change was also one of those very trendy causes to protest for or against, and now there’s always this quest to find what is the next thing to revolutionize," Riboua added. "And this revolution against the United States is always welcome, no matter what type of forms and shapes it takes."
Fox News Digital has previously reported that Singham, a U.S.-born tech tycoon living in Shanghai, funneled roughly $285 million into six activist nonprofits accused by lawmakers and analysts of promoting pro-China narratives and anti-American protest movements.
O’Leary accused local groups opposing the Utah project of being tied to China-linked funding networks and argued the backlash reflected a broader nationwide trend of activist campaigns targeting AI infrastructure, though Fox News Digital has not independently verified the Utah-related allegations.
Riboua, who specializes in anti-West ideological movements and China’s influence in the Middle East, warned that the overlap between climate activists, anti-Israel protesters, communists and Islamists is being driven by a broader anti-American worldview she described as "Third Worldism," an ideology that divides the world into "oppressors" and "oppressed" and casts the United States and the West as the primary source of global problems.
The ideology unites otherwise unrelated activist causes under a shared anti-Western framework, she said.
"Third Worldism drives anti-Americanism because the goal of Third Worldism is basically dismantling a cohesive Western society or Western country," Riboua said.
WATCH: Expert warns ‘red-green-green alliance’ helping China gain AI edge
Energy expert Brenda Shaffer, a research faculty member at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, described the broader activist convergence as part of a "red-green-green alliance," an ideological overlap between three elements: communist movements, characterized by the color red; Islamist activism, described as green; and environmental protest groups, symbolized as green.
They increasingly unite around anti-West and anti-American causes, she said.
Riboua said the alliance has become increasingly visible as activist groups move rapidly from one issue to another — from climate protests to anti-Israel demonstrations and now toward campaigns targeting AI infrastructure and data centers.
The overlap has also become increasingly visible on the streets. At a 2024 "Climate Justice Means Free Palestine" rally in New York City, climate activists and pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested side-by-side.
"There’s always this quest to find what is the next thing to revolutionize," she said.
Riboua pointed to Thunberg’s evolution into a vocal anti-Israel activist as an example of the growing ideological overlap between climate activism and broader anti-West protest movements.
"Greta is not an Islamist, and I think that she never read Karl Marx, but she has all the good instincts of a revolutionary against the evil oppressor, Westerner, and the United States," Riboua said.
Shaffer warned the growing convergence is increasingly affecting industries critical to America’s economic and technological competition with China.
"Energy is crucial to the AI race, to the data centers," Shaffer told Fox News Digital via a Zoom interview.
Shaffer argued that while activist groups in the West target fossil fuels, AI infrastructure and industrial development, China continues rapidly expanding coal production, manufacturing capacity and energy generation.
"So we're truly by adopting international climate policies, we're weakening the West," Shaffer said.
"China really benefits from these policies that we adopt and we just let them keep forging ahead with coal."
Shaffer compared the trend to Soviet-backed anti-nuclear activism during the Cold War, arguing that adversarial powers have historically benefited from anti-energy movements in the West.
"You saw traditionally the Soviet Union funding movements against nuclear energy in Europe so that Europe would remain dependent on Soviet and later Russian gas," Shaffer said.
She also warned that increasing Western dependence on Chinese renewable-energy supply chains could create new strategic vulnerabilities because China dominates major parts of the global solar and inverter market.
Shaffer argued many activist campaigns focus on delaying or blocking energy and infrastructure projects in the United States while China rapidly expands coal consumption and industrial production.
Riboua added that many ordinary protesters are not necessarily driven by ideology, but by simplified narratives amplified through social media clickbait and activist messaging.
"Some people are generally good people and they want to have a moral position," she said. "They know headlines … there’s a lot of ignorance."
Shaffer warned that artificial intelligence infrastructure requires enormous amounts of reliable electricity and said the West risks falling behind China if energy costs continue rising and infrastructure projects continue facing activist opposition.
"You can’t have an arms industry built on solar energy," she said.
American Culture Quiz: Test yourself on grocery giants and Lincoln landmarks
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This week's quiz highlights grocery giants, Lincoln landmarks — and a whole lot more.
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Give it a try and see how you do!
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Family of shooting survivor says 'defamatory' true-crime doc painted Olympic equestrian shooter as real victim
The family of the New Jersey woman who made headlines after she was shot by her Olympic equestrian trainer is condemning the case’s portrayal in a pair of true crime documentaries, alleging the coverage is biased and leans in favor of her attacker.
Netflix’s 2026 documentary titled "Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill" and a 2022 episode of CBS News’ "48 Hours" follows the harrowing story of Lauren Kanarek, a dressage rider who was shot twice in the chest by Olympian Michael Barisone outside his Long Valley farm in 2019.
Kanarek survived the incident, and Barisone was later arrested on various charges, including first-degree attempted murder.
In 2022, a Morris County jury found Barisone not guilty by reason of insanity, and he was released from a psychiatric facility one year later.
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The shooting quickly became a popular topic within true crime media, with "48 Hours" and Netflix both releasing shows retelling Kanarek’s story. But shortly after Netflix’s release earlier this year, her family began disputing filmmakers’ version of events, alleging both documentaries put a larger emphasis on Barisone’s side of the story while portraying him as the victim.
"It’s horrible. In the case of ‘48 Hours’, we were just flabbergasted at the time," Jonathan Kanarek, Lauren’s father, told Fox News Digital. "It was so defamatory about Lauren."
The release of both shows opened the door to a public harassment against Kanarek, including endless social media comments and ostracism within the equestrian community, according to her father.
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"CBS has a big audience of true crime fans," Jonathan Kanarek said. "These true crime people, this is what they do. Lauren’s getting all this hate mail, [saying], ‘You should be dead, you miserable b----. He should have shot you in the head.’"
Steven Beer, the Kanarek family attorney, echoed the father’s sentiments surrounding the case’s portrayal in mainstream media.
"I don’t think anyone who viewed ‘48 Hours’ or ‘Untold’ on Netflix could view that as a slice of victim advocacy," Beer told Fox News Digital.
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Beer added that upon watching Netflix’s trailer for the show, they grew suspicious that the documentary was not giving air to Kanarek’s side of the story and approached Netflix and Propagate, the film’s production company, to request a screener ahead of its release.
"We asked Netflix and Propagate for a copy of the screener of the film beforehand so we could help Lauren manage her anxiety," Beer said. "And they turned us down, [which was] just shocking. So that certainly was a confirmation of what we could expect."
According to Beer, Kanarek and her family were especially disheartened by what they believe was an attempt by Netflix and "48 Hours" to reframe her story for the sake of profits and popularity.
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"After all the things that have happened in the world of sports and in the world in general, where powerful people have victimized or intimidated young women, that in this particular environment where we feel we are shining a light on this and talking about support and holding powerful people accountable," Beer said. "It’s just a head-scratcher that Propagate and Netflix would disregard that conversation and the opportunity to do well."
"All they had to do was be responsible and tell a story that wasn’t solely geared at giving the audience the impression that maybe [Lauren] could have driven [Barisone] to that point," Beer continued. "As if anything Lauren could have done would have merited Michael Barisone from getting a gun and attempting to kill her."
Kanarek began training under Barisone in 2018 and eventually moved into an on-site apartment with her fiancé at his training farm, Hawthorne Hill. However, the pair’s working relationship quickly turned sour, with the Netflix documentary revealing both individuals blamed each other for the fallout.
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Posts made by Kanarek to Facebook at the time played a large role in both the criminal trial and subsequent documentary, with Barisone telling "48 Hours" the fallout was substantial.
"There were things coming out on social media that were horrific," Barisone said in an episode of "48 Hours" about the shooting. "I remember complete and total panic. Everybody says I was unglued. I was unglued."
However, both Kanarek and her family have vehemently denied that the posts were intended to make Barisone feel uncomfortable, with Kanarek telling Netflix the posts were made in response to Barisone’s girlfriend trying to keep her from riding at the farm.
Months of tension came to a head on Aug. 7, 2019, when Barisone confronted Kanarek and her fiancé, Rob Goodwin, while the pair were staying on his property, and shot her twice in the chest.
"I’m walking over to him, and he is just staring at me," Kanarek said in the Netflix documentary. "There was just something not right. And immediately, Michael pulls out a gun, shoots at me, bang, bang."
She was subsequently transported to a hospital and placed in a medically induced coma for several days as doctors raced to save her life.
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"After a month in the hospital, she was able to leave and they spent the last several years going through her recovery, which – at least the physical parts – will never end," Jonathan Kanarek told Fox News Digital.
Kanarek ultimately walked away with a damaged left lung and required several reconstructive surgeries stemming from the shooting.
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Barisone was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, with authorities adding he also fired at Goodwin but narrowly missed.
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After being found not guilty by reason of insanity, Barisone was civilly committed to Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton before moving to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris County, according to NJ.com. He was later released in 2023.
In 2025, Barisone was permanently banned from riding in events sanctioned by the U.S. Equestrian Foundation by SafeSport on the grounds of "sexual harassment; emotional misconduct; violated NGB policies/bylaws," according to its website. The decision is eligible for appeal.
A disclaimer at the end of the Netflix documentary notes that additional documents and evidence provided by both sides were not included in the show.
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Additionally, Kanarek was paid an unspecified amount for her appearance in the documentary, according to NJ.com. Barisone, however, was not paid, according to a GoFundMe created on his behalf.
"Despite wild claims of us being paid upwards of six figures for our interviews, we did not ask for nor receive a dime," a March 4 update to the fundraiser read. "We were told the show has a small budget to pay for some documents, which we declined, as we did not want to give them exclusive rights to certain documents."
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The fundraiser has received more than $85,000 in donations for Barisone.
In light of the show’s release, Kanarek is hoping her story of survival and victim advocacy will inspire change within institutions that have a responsibility to protect women.
"[Lauren] has a purpose as she moves forward. She is not a professional victim," Beer told Fox News Digital. "She wants people to learn from her experience and to help spark that constructive conversation."
"She is healing, and that is paramount," Beer added. "Part of her healing is trying to bring light from darkness, and trying to bring good from her tragic circumstances so that fewer women have to endure this kind of toxic environment – where they are vulnerable to intimidation, harassment and worse from powerful gatekeepers."
Fox News Digital reached out to Barisone's attorney, Netflix, CBS News and Propagate for comment.
Platner’s online past gets raunchier with crude takes on ‘Latin American hookers,’ cheating abroad
As Maine’s presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate faces criticism for insulting the armed forces on his now-deleted Reddit account, additional comments have emerged showing the combat veteran discussing prostitution overseas, including defending men who cheated on their wives while abroad.
Graham Platner made allusions to both Thai and Latin American prostitution in a pair of deleted Reddit posts from 2019 and 2012, respectively. In another post, dated April 2012, he defended men who cheat on their wives and girlfriends overseas while responding to a news article about prostitution.
"You don't have much experience with Latin American hookers, do you?" Platner wrote in April 2012, responding to another user who was expressing concerns that "prostitutes in Colombia are part of a giant sex trade and the women are effectively slaves."
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The reviewed comments do not establish that Platner hired sex workers, and the account often used crude or hyperbolic language.
The comments emerged as Platner’s deleted Reddit history has become a growing liability in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, particularly after posts surfaced in which he called the U.S. Army "full of fat, lazy trash" and mocked Ted Daniels, a former Army infantryman and Purple Heart recipient who was wounded in Afghanistan. The archive has also shown Platner using slurs, denigrating white rural Americans, expressing support for political violence and making sexually explicit comments.
The same day as his post on "Latin American hookers," Platner made a post defending men who had cheated on their significant others while abroad.
"I've heard that idiotic sentiment made within the confines of the the [sic] military. ‘If you can't remain faithful to your wife, how can you remain faithful to your comrades?’" Platner wrote, responding to a piece about Secret Service agents using prostitutes. "Well, I have many good buddies who lied and cheated with women, and yet were straight shooting hard men when it came to their work."
"I find it is a sentiment only held by moral relativists who need something to cry about, intelligent people realize they are not mutually exclusive," he added.
Years later, Platner continued his discussion of prostitution on Reddit.
"And sadly, the Afghan tax f---ed everybody on the 330 game," Platner wrote in 2019. "Spend your leave banging hookers in Thailand instead of getting b----ed at by the wife back home, and you could sell it as avoiding federal income tax."
He was likely referring to a tax strategy used by some government contractors working abroad, where, if they spent more than 330 days outside the United States, they could avoid paying federal income tax.
The Platner campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.
The posts were made by the Reddit account "P-Hustle," which Platner acknowledges was his. Comments from that account have been compiled into a searchable database by the Maine Monitor.
"Graham Platner's moral depravity has alarmed Maine voters, forcing Democrats to distance themselves from him and his scandals," National Republican Senatorial Committee press secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital.
The Senate hopeful has attributed his online behavior to psychological trauma stemming from his combat deployments as well as the "crude humor" and "offensive language" he became accustomed to while serving as a Marine.
"I’m sorry for this. Just know that it’s not reflective at all of who I am," Platner said of his Reddit comments in October. "I don’t want you to judge me on the dumbest thing I ever wrote on the internet. I would prefer if people could judge me on the person I am today."
PETER NAVARRO: Powell’s shadow Fed majority could threaten jobs, housing and growth
Kevin Warsh has now been sworn in as the new Federal Reserve Chair. Outgoing Chair Jerome Powell has refused to leave the Fed Board of Governors, breaking with the modern custom that departing Fed chairs leave the Board rather than linger as rival power centers.
The clear danger: Powell will have enough Board support to act as Fed Shadow Chair and force a series of rate hikes down Warsh’s throat.
Never mind that even a single rate hike would be the worst possible response to an oil-price shock. Never mind that two of Jay Powell’s predecessors understood the difference between demand inflation and an oil shock.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Alan Greenspan understood that an oil shock can both raise headline inflation and damage growth. His FOMC repeatedly cut the federal-funds rate as the economy weakened.
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When oil, foodstuffs, fertilizers, and industrial metals all moved sharply higher in 2008 — driven by booming emerging-market demand, constrained supply, thin spare capacity, and speculative flows — Ben Bernanke’s Fed likewise cut the federal-funds rate in April. He then held steady in June and refused to launch a recessionary rate-hike campaign into prices the Fed could not drill, refine, mine, plant, or ship away.
That is the looming central error. The Fed cannot produce one extra barrel of oil. It cannot reopen a shipping lane. It cannot refine gasoline. It cannot lower diesel costs by crushing mortgage demand in Ohio or forcing a small manufacturer in Pennsylvania to roll over credit at punitive rates.
A Fed rate hike now would rein in demand in response to a supply shock and hit precisely where the economy is already vulnerable. Housing would weaken further. Interest-sensitive manufacturing would suffer. Small-business credit would tighten. Financial conditions would tighten just as energy prices are eating real incomes. The dollar could strengthen, pressuring exporters.
Memo to the Fed: An oil shock already acts like a tax increase. It takes money out of household budgets, raises transportation costs, compresses margins and slows real activity. If the Fed layers another rate hike on top of that, it does not solve the oil problem. It simply adds a credit shock to an energy shock.
Why do that when bond market vigilantes are already doing the contractionary policy work. A 30-year Treasury yield north of 5% and a ten-year north of 4.5% is not loose money. Mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs and duration-sensitive assets are already feeling the heat. In that weather, the central bank does not need to prove its toughness or independence by firing another round into the hull of the ship.
Nor are the April inflation reports an argument for panic. Core PPI came in a bit hot at 4.4% but core CPI was 2.8%. Neither number justifies treating an energy-led commodity shock as a demand-side emergency.
The right question is whether the oil spike will spill into elements of the core and create second-round wage-price dynamics. We have a long way to go before we will know, and the Fed should not be in the business of playing worst case scenario games.
Instead, the Fed’s job is as it always should be, to keep inflation expectations anchored while preserving maximum employment. As long bond yields rise, risk shifts increasingly to the recession side — as Greenspan and Bernanke long ago understood.
That’s where the specter of Powell as Shadow Chair rears its ugly head: Three Biden-appointed governors — Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr, and Lisa Cook — remain in place. Powell and this Biden trio can now already form a four-vote majority on the seven-member Board. Bad enough.
If Trump appointee Christopher Waller proves to be the pivotal defector, as he is signaling, this would turn Powell’s Shadow Chair majority into a rout. Warsh would have the title. Powell would control the reaction function.
And the regional Fed presidents in Cleveland, Minneapolis, and Dallas — Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie Logan — are already forming the chorus line for a possible hawkish pivot.
It is by this Shadow Chair math that Kevin Warsh — and the American economy — may get boxed in. If Powell, his Biden-era allies, and the regional hawks force a rate-hike campaign into an oil shock, they will not be defending the Fed’s credibility or proving its independence. They will be adding a credit shock to an energy shock — and proving only recklessness. The bill will come due not in the Eccles Building, but in factories, homes, small businesses, and export markets across America.
28 Boy Scouts rescued from fast-moving floodwaters during river trip in West Virginia
A Boy Scout river trip turned into a rescue mission Saturday after fast-moving floodwaters trapped 28 scouts in West Virginia.
The scouts were traveling along the Cacapon River in Hampshire County on Saturday afternoon when fast-moving water intensified unexpectedly, forcing the troop to head toward the bank.
But the boys — from Fairfax, Virginia — soon found themselves trapped on the wrong side of the river.
Micah Campbell, who was with the scouts, told Fox News Digital the troop had planned a routine river trip before conditions quickly worsened following the storm.
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"We were doing a river trip and the current and the strength of the river turned out to be a little stronger than we thought," Campbell said.
Campbell said the scouts initially moved toward land for safety before realizing they were stranded.
"When some of the boys went into the river, we decided to call it off and go on shore," he said. "And now we were on the wrong side of the river, so we needed some help getting across."
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Jeffrey West, whose father owns a cabin near where the scouts became stranded, said rescue crews were called to the scene.
Watercraft eventually arrived and transported the boys safely across the river.
Altogether, the scouts were stranded for roughly 45 minutes.
"It’s been a day," West said with a laugh, adding that he had originally planned a "quiet weekend at the cabin."
West said the boys later gathered at the cabin, where they were given pizza and hot cocoa while waiting for transportation home.
He added that arrangements were being made to shuttle the scouts out of the area.
WATCH: Republicans shrug off fears that Trump targeting GOP incumbents could backfire on agenda
GOP lawmakers brushed aside concerns over President Donald Trump targeting GOP incumbents after Rep. Thomas Massie’s, R-Ky., loss, as several Republicans stressed the need for unity to advance the Republican agenda.
Massie lost to congressional candidate Ed Gallrein in Kentucky’s Republican primary last week after months of escalating attacks from Trump, who publicly criticized the Kentucky Republican over repeated breaks with the president and opposition to parts of the GOP agenda.
"Primaries happen," Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. "We move through that, but it's back to the business of the American people, so you know, my hope is that everybody just gets focused on that."
Massie had long been one of the most outspoken Republican critics of parts of Trump’s agenda in Congress, drawing repeated attacks from the president over spending fights and other legislative disputes. Trump intensified his criticism of Massie in the months leading up to the primary, backing efforts to oust him from Congress.
The stakes are particularly high for Republicans as the party works to maintain its slim House majority over Democrats while navigating internal divisions over Trump’s agenda and political influence.
Despite speculation that Trump’s strategy of targeting GOP incumbents could be harmful to the party, many lawmakers stood by Trump’s decision to make his personal endorsements as he sees fit.
"I think Trump is going to be Trump, and not everybody's going to agree with what he does," Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, said. "The fact is that he's been incredibly effective."
"He gets to endorse who he wants to endorse," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said.
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Still, some Republicans acknowledged Trump’s aggressive involvement in primaries could create complications inside the conference, particularly for members no longer worried about reelection.
"It's not lost on a lot of people, I think, that the reason that the president doesn't like those members could be… they can get the last laugh if you will as they are untethered now to reelection."
Others emphasized that with Republicans operating under narrow margins in the House, lawmakers have little room for prolonged battles within the party as leadership works to move Trump-backed legislation through Congress.
"We have a tight bracket that we have to, every week, fulfill," Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said. "And as we move through primaries, as we move towards the election, we need the team. We need members to show up."
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Republicans also stressed the importance of gearing up both voters and members of Congress to be aligned ahead of the midterms as the party works to defend its narrow House majority in November.
"Ultimately, that's up to the voters in those states and districts as to who wins these primaries and it's up every member to make sure they win," Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said.
"As far as the rest of the Congress, look, we have a lot of work to do on behalf of the American people. And unless you suddenly change your view on these issues, one would think you would still represent your district and state appropriately."
WATCH: Platner doesn't apologize to Purple Heart recipient, voters when confronted on post mocking soldier
FIRST ON FOX: SULLIVAN, ME – Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner declined to apologize both to voters and a Purple Heart recipient when asked by Fox News Digital about a deleted Reddit post where he said the wounded soldier "didn’t deserve to live."
Platner did not respond at first when asked outside a market near his home whether he regrets making the post, which Fox News Digital reported earlier this week showed him mocking a video of Pfc. Ted Daniels taken during a clash with Taliban fighters in 2012 that ended in Daniels being shot four times and being awarded a Purple Heart.
"I did four tours in the infantry, any attempt to say that I disrespect veterans is slanderous and offensive," Platner said when asked follow-up questions about what he would say to any Maine voters who were offended by his post and if he should apologize to Daniels.
"Do you think you owe him an apology?" Fox News Digital asked again.
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"Do you know how many of my friends have Purple Hearts, do you know how many of my friends got wounded?" Platner responded, before adding, "yeah, a lot of them, thank you."
Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, sparked significant outrage online this week over the resurfaced Reddit post critics have said shows a lack of respect for his fellow soldiers.
"This video never gets old," Platner posted in June 2019 using the Reddit account "P-Hustle," which he has acknowledged owning, in reference to a viral video from the helmet Daniels was wearing while taking enemy fire.
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"Dumb motherf----- didn't deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat a-- 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 s--- decision possible when it comes to small unit combat."
Rob O’Neill, the U.S. Navy SEAL who is credited with killing Usama bin Laden, was one of many veterans to speak out in response to the post.
"Mr. Platner was way out of line talking about a soldier that way," O’Neill told Fox News Digital about the controversy on Thursday.
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"This is completely barbaric," O’Neill added. "I don't understand. If you swear an oath to the country, it doesn't even matter what the politics are. Every single time you fight it's for the man next to you, it’s for the person next to you. Politics goes out the window. And to wish ill on someone like that under fire is just, you know, like I said, it is the opposite of everything I've ever been raised to believe."
Platner has previously leaned into his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to explain the numerous incendiary social media posts that have surfaced since he announced his Senate run.
"For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry," Platner said in October before the post about Daniels, and other posts disparaging the military, were public.
"I’m sorry for this. Just know that it’s not reflective at all of who I am. I don’t want you to judge me on the dumbest thing I ever wrote on the internet. I would prefer if people could judge me on the person I am today."
Daniels himself reacted to the post, telling Fox Business, "People like this don't say stuff like this to my face."
"It's online, and that right there tells me, Graham, you're a coward."
Platner became the Democrats' presumptive nominee after his rival for the nomination, two-term Gov. Janet Mills, ended her campaign last month after trailing Platner in polling and fundraising.
The Democratic Senate Primary in Maine will be held on June 9, where Platner will appear on the ballot alongside Democrat David Costello to earn the right to face off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
AOC tells New Yorkers to ‘pull up’ to Alabama during rally speech behind bulletproof glass
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is taking heat from southern conservatives after she delivered a fiery speech in Montgomery, Alabama, last week, demanding that northern progressives "pull up to the South."
Speaking at the "All Roads Lead to The South" rally on May 16, the prominent "Squad" member claimed the U.S. was not a true democracy until the 1960s when the Voting Rights Act was passed, and took direct aim at the Supreme Court, accusing the high court under Chief Justice John Roberts of being "part of that long history of regression and repression in America."
Ocasio-Cortez then issued a highly controversial call to action, demanding that "the North" travel to red states like Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi to fight what she described as political injustice.
She doubled down on social media following the event, writing, "If you're not from these states, it's time to pull up."
Her rhetoric was quickly slammed by conservatives on social media, with many pointing out the irony of the congresswoman urging people to "pull up" while she stood heavily protected during her speech behind bulletproof glass.
Conservative podcaster Todd Spears went viral with a TikTok reaction video that racked up 1 million views, mocking Ocasio-Cortez's security setup.
"[Pull up] and do what? Help us get the boat off the trailer, like cut the grass, track a deer in the woods?" Spears said. "Roll up and do what exactly? Because you're standing behind, like, pope glass in your own hometown. You come down here starting that s---, you better bring a tank. That's not a good idea. You stay where you're at."
AOC SPENT OVER $53K IN CAMPAIGN FUNDS ON LUXURY HOTELS IN 2025: 'CARPETBAGGER'
Spears also criticized the divisive nature of her remarks, writing in the video caption that "AOC talking about the North 'rolling up' on the South and Alabama, like this is still the 1860s, is wild."
"Maybe politicians should spend less time trying to divide Americans and more time fixing the mess we already have," he added.
Another TikTok creator, Kei Bennett, whose video garnered more than 800,000 views, warned Ocasio-Cortez's supporters not to take the bait.
"I want to issue a stern warning so you do not take her advice and pull up on Alabama," Bennett said, jokingly citing local dangers ranging from wild hogs and bayou gators to locals who "will not hesitate to unite and get you the f--- up out of here."
Bennett, who has more than half a million followers on the platform, warned the congresswoman's followers that "down here in the South we don't call cops, we call coroners," adding, "Stay your a-- up there, leave us alone. We ain't bothering nobody."
Ocasio-Cortez's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Knicks take commanding 3-0 lead over Cavaliers in Eastern Conference Finals
The New York Knicks took a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday as the franchise eyes its first NBA Finals berth since 1999.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points to lead New York to a 121-108 win over Cleveland, while Mikal Bridges added 22 as the Knicks never trailed in Game 3.
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New York is the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 10 straight during a postseason run. The last team to do it was the Boston Celtics, who also went on a 10-game run on their way to the 2024 title.
All but one of the Knicks’ wins have been by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points.
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell finished with 23 points in 38 minutes, while teammate James Harden added 21. Cleveland shot 12 of 41 from 3-point range and 12 of 19 from the foul line.
Cleveland rallied and tied it at 50-all on a jumper by Harden before the Knicks countered with a 10-1 run. They went into halftime with a 60-54 advantage.
Music superstar Taylor Swift was courtside for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night alongside fiancé and Ohio native Travis Kelce.
Swift and Kelce, who recently signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, took their seats in Rocket Arena shortly before the opening tip.
With the Cavs trailing 91-82 at the end of the third quarter, Kelce and Swift were shown on the arena’s giant scoreboard. Fans cheered wildly as Kelce showed off his team cap and wine-and-gold shirt.
Game 4 is set for Monday night at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The series will return to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Wednesday, if necessary.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs will host the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 on Sunday night. Oklahoma City enters the matchup with a 2-1 series lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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