"relationship, as recently as 2016. The three described him in similar terms, spending time with him could be exhilarating, but they also recognised patterns of heavy drinking and womanising. To sum up how he treated her, the third woman said she felt like collateral damage to the world that is his. When Mrs. Fifefield first met Plattner in 2013, he was a student at George Washington University and she was working on veterans issues for the Chamber of Commerce. Their roughly two year on-again off-again relationship was heavy and passionate. She said she recognised that Plattner was struggling with the aftermath of his military service and thought she could help him. Mrs. Fifefield, who was navigating family challenges at the time, recalls that period is emotionally rocky for her too. Plattner could be rough with her, Mrs. Fifefield said, particularly when they were drinking, leaving her shaking and afraid. In interviews, she grappled with how to process her experiences. She is quick to note that he never hit me or punched me, but she said he regularly grabbed her by the shoulders, sometimes hard enough to leave marks, and on one occasion yanked her out of a cab by her wrist after an argument when she wanted to stay in the car. During one argument, she recalled, he twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into her bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn't get out telling her to remain there until she was calm. Eventually Mrs. Fifefield said she fell asleep and left the next morning. It hurt, it didn't cause an injury, it didn't break my arm. Plattner strongly disputes the claim of physical intimidation. The Times could not independently corroborate her account. She also recalled that Plattner's displays of weaponry and discussions of violence left her uneasy. She said he kept an AR-15 laying around the apartment and would sharpen an axe while watching television. He said what she described as a warrior ethos and fantasised about killing people he deemed a threat. She said he told her that rape was about power, it stuck with her throughout the years. He said this a lot, if anybody broke in here I would rape them, she recalled, saying that he added that it would not be in a sexual way or a gay way. It was like I would rape them to show that I'm dominant. Asked about those remarks, Plattner did not dispute them. A friend who knew Plattner and Mrs. Fifefield during that period said the comments sounded out of character. Plattner had overlapping relationships with other women while he dated Fifefield. Times goes on to say they couldn't corroborate all the testimonies she made based on Google chat exchanges or Facebook messages. And she also said she didn't tell anyone about it at the time. The impact of the relationship on Mrs. Fifefield's life lingered for years. She referred to him in a diary entry in June 2016 as the most toxic, abusive man on earth who destroyed my life. Those close to her encouraged her to move on. Do not call Graham a friend, message her that year. Mrs. Fifefield, who is affiliated with Independent Woman, a conservative group, insisted that her political beliefs have nothing to do with her choice to come forward. And she worked briefly on Nikki Haley's presidential campaign and the Heritage Foundation. Plattner's campaign said in a statement, let's be very clear, this is a lifelong GOP operative who's dedicated her career to electing Republicans. She said, I know it's like it looks like a big Republican trying to take down a Democrat, but if he was running as a Republican I'd be doing the same."