An image shared on Threads claims Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills purportedly said her state will stop paying federal taxes.
Verdict: False
Mills’ press secretary denied the claim’s validity in an email to USA Today.
Fact Check:
Maine resident Melissa Moulton has created a petition calling for Mills to be recalled as governor of Maine following a tense exchange between Mills and Trump over transgender athletes, according to local outlet WGME. The petition has 16,000 signatures, the outlet reported.
The Threads image claims Mills purportedly said Maine will stop paying federal taxes. “If Donald Trump stops federal funding to Maine, we the people of Maine will take out federal taxes from all paychecks and no taxes will be paid to the federal government,” the remark attributed to Mills reads.
The purported remark appears to reference a recent exchange between Mills and Trump where Trump threatened to deny federal funding to Maine after Mills suggested she would not comply with an executive order that bars transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports.
Besides Threads, the claim circulated on X, where it received over three million views.
The claim is false. While Mills has released two statements following her exchange with Trump, she did not say the state of Maine would stop paying federal taxes in either one.
“If the President attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of Federal funding, my Administration and the Attorney General will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides. The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats,” Mills said via one of the statements. (RELATED: Trump Post About Oregon Governor Fake)
Likewise, the purported remark is not referenced on Mills’ associated social media accounts. Trump also does not appear to have publicly commented on the claim. In addition, Check Your Fact did not find any credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. Snopes, USA Today, and Reuters have all debunked the claim.
Furthermore, Mills’ press secretary, Ben Goodman, denied the claim’s validity in an email to USA Today.
“The statement is entirely false. Further, the action described in the false statement is illegal, per the Internal Revenue Code. The Governor respects the rule of law,” Goodman said, according to the outlet.
Check Your Fact has also contacted Mills’ office for comment.
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