PORTLAND – A political action committee that supports Republicans in Kennebec County has taken the name “Let’s Roll,” the words immortalized by a passenger on the hijacked jet that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

Todd Beamer, a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, is believed to have uttered the phrase shortly before passengers overcame their terrorist hijackers and diverted the plane from its intended target, the nation’s capital.

The saying, which was in use before Sept. 11, 2001, became symbolic after a telephone operator reported overhearing Beamer use it before the plane crash.

The nonprofit Todd M. Beamer Foundation claims ownership of the phrase. David Coyle, the foundation’s director of marketing, said, “We try to make sure, when it’s used, it’s used to inspire and to motivate.”

Mark Ellis, secretary of the Maine Republican Party State Committee, said organizers of the new PAC appropriated the name “Let’s Roll” because President Bush had used it in reference to America’s unity and courage in the face of terrorism.

“We felt it was a strong statement that tied directly to the president and the Republican Party, ” Ellis said.

Beamer’s widow, Lisa, has used the phrase to draw attention to her husband’s life and the plight of children who experience traumatic events.

Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden took the phrase as his team’s 2002 slogan, and faced criticism for linking a tragedy with sports.

Coyle said the New Jersey-based Beamer foundation is aware that people are using the phrase for various meanings, but it doesn’t plan to police the activity.

“I’ve seen some of the most tasteless things with ‘Let’s roll,’ so there’s things that are worse than a political action committee,” he said.

The Beamer foundation is acting as a clearinghouse for those who want to use the slogan.

The foundation, formed to help children who experience family trauma, was one of more than a dozen groups and people to file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Let’s roll.”

The foundation received some usage privileges, but final approval is pending.

Ellis, the principal officer of the PAC, said he never checked with the foundation before naming the PAC because he was not aware that the foundation existed.

Should people express displeasure with the committee’s use of the name, Ellis said he is open to considering a change.