Overview
- The police report obtained by the Bangor Daily News says that just before 2 a.m. on March 12, 1988, Jackson went to a Fort Kent home, kicked in a door, grabbed a man by the throat and punched him, cutting the man’s face.
- Jackson has acknowledged the fight from when he was 19 and said he “took responsibility,” while insisting he has never been violent with his longtime partner Lana Pelletier.
- Pelletier disputes the police attribution that she told officers Jackson “pushed her around” and says she does not recall making those statements.
- A surviving court summary shows the misdemeanor was resolved with a $50 payment and state background checks found no other criminal cases; the original court file has been destroyed under retention rules.
- Republican groups have amplified the report and urged Democrats to act while Jackson’s backers call the episode a decades-old mistake, leaving the allegation as an active campaign liability that could affect fundraising, national spending decisions and existing legal challenges in the race.