Donald Trump

Maine Governor Says He Got Death Threats After Comparing Confederate Statues to 9/11 Memorial

What to Know

  • Recent deadly violence at a White Nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has heightened tensions across the country
  • Communities across the U.S. are pulling statues and other displays honoring the Confederacy as the debate continues to heat up
  • President Trump has decried the rising movement to pull down monuments to Confederate icons

Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he received death threats after comparing the removal of Confederate statues to the removal of a 9/11 memorial.

The Republican governor made the comparison a week ago during a radio appearance on WGAN-AM. He appeared on the same station Thursday to say he's gotten letters "threatening to kill me" and "threatening my personal life and my family."

LePage made his initial comments days after deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, during a white supremacist rally over the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. He also blamed right- and left-wing demonstrators for the violence.

LePage said this week that 7,600 Maine residents fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He said Thursday he might be mistaken. Historians had expressed doubt about the figure.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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