Yesterday conservative news website Maine First Media dropped a bombshell recording from the Maine Democratic Party’s “Values and Vision” summit.

The recording shows a speaker make light of the suicide rate among white people. While this is certainly alarming, the fact the crowd is laughing about the rise in people taking their own lives is also disturbing.

The video can be found here on Maine First Media’s Twitter account.

Maine First Media reports the speaker is Richard Foctmann, who the Maine Democratic Party ran against incumbent Republican Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason last year.

In the video, Foctmann can be seen discussing the rise in suicides among white men and encouraging it.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death among Americans, with 44,193 Americans taking their own lives every year.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the age-adjusted suicide rate has increased 24% from 1999 to 2014, with the pace of increase greater after 2006. Suicide rates have increased among males and females over this period among all age groups from 10-74.

The suicide rate among females is highest among ages 10-14 and 45-64 among males.

Also from the CDC report:

Suicide is an important public health issue involving psychological, biological, and societal factors (1, 2). After a period of nearly consistent decline in suicide rates in the United States from 1986 through 1999 (3), suicide rates have increased almost steadily from 1999 through 2014. While suicide among adolescents and young adults is increasing and among the leading causes of death for those demographic groups (4), suicide among middle-aged adults is also rising (5).

The Maine Democratic Party has yet to respond to this issue in the twenty-four hours since Maine First Media released the recording. Despite the seriousness of the issue, they also have not publicly disavowed the statements made about rising suicide rates.