Jackson said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Oct. 18 that he does not regret telling Collins to "shut up." He refused to apologize, saying "what I'm not going to be is talked down to by Sen. Collins." The protester Collins linked to him turned out to be Henry Elgie, 19, a Bowdoin College student and Sunrise Movement volunteer. Elgie told the New York Times he had "zero coordination" with the campaign.
On Thursday, Oct. 15, Collins and Jackson met at the fourth and final Maine Senate debate, in front of a live studio audience in Bangor. Asked when she had stood up to Trump, Collins cited her failed push to defeat Pete Hegseth's confirmation. Later, after a protester shouted about AI data centers, she called him "obviously one of Troy's supporters." Jackson told her, "Oh, shut up. I don't even know that kid."
Who the protester was
- Henry Elgie, 19, is a Bowdoin College student.
- The Sunrise Movement claimed Elgie as one of its volunteers.
- Elgie said he had "zero coordination" with Jackson's campaign.