Failed Susan Collins challenger accused of pointing a gun at a campaign staffer during argument over buying bogus COVID-19 drugs with crypto

• A former US Senate candidate was accused of pointing a gun at an ex-staffer, The Bangor Daily News reported.
• Matt McDonald alleged in an application for a protection order that Max Linn threatened him during an argument about cryptocurrency.

Max Linn, a former US Senate candidate from Maine, has been accused of pointing a gun at a former campaign staffer during an argument over buying bogus COVID-19 drugs from Indonesia with cryptocurrency.

The Bangor Daily News reported that Matt McDonald, a former assistant on Linn's 2018 and 2020 Senate campaigns, filed an application Wednesday in Hancock County District Court for a protection-from-harassment order against Linn.

According to the report, the complaint states that Linn gave McDonald money in the middle of 2021 to invest in cryptocurrency. After Linn returned from a trip to Indonesia with his wife, the complaint says, he told McDonald that he wanted to use the cryptocurrency to buy drugs from that country that falsely claim to treat COVID-19.

McDonald alleges in the complaint that Linn pointed a gun at him when they met up to resolve the dispute, The Daily News reported. McDonald told the court that he spent weeks making sure his family was safe after the altercation with Linn, and applied for the protection order on the advice of police.

A judge granted an order of protection to McDonald on Wednesday and ordered Linn not to contact him, according to the Daily News. The next hearing on the order is scheduled for November 17.

"I went to court because I believe my family could be in danger," McDonald told the newspaper.

Insider's attempts to reach McDonald were unsuccessful.

Linn ran a failed campaign against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2020. Linn ran as an independent and finished last in the race behind Collins, Democrat Sara Gideon, and another independent, Lisa Savage. Linn gained notoriety during the race for his antics at a debate where moderators repeatedly asked him to stick to the topic.

In an interview with Insider, Linn's attorney, Steve Juskewich, denied that the former candidate ever pointed a gun at McDonald.

When asked about McDonald's allegation that Linn wanted to buy Indonesian drugs, Juskewich said, "I can confirm that's not true."

Juskewich said Linn initially lent $225,000 to McDonald for him to invest in cryptocurrency. The value of the cryptocurrency has grown to $400,000 since McDonald invested it, Juskewich added, further alleging that McDonald used the application for a protection order to distract people from the cryptocurrency dispute.

"Mr. McDonald's intention to steal Mr. Linn's money is becoming clearer by the moment," he said.

Juskewich says that he is still in communication with McDonald about transferring access to the cryptocurrency to Linn, but they haven't come to an agreement.