In 2024, Mastriano sued the University of Brunswick due to the criticism his academic research received. In 2022, University of Brunswick Professor Jeffrey Brown, Mastriano’s doctoral program advisor, said Mastriano earned his PhD on “shaky grounds.” Brown argued Mastriano’s doctoral research was “atrocious,” “dishonest,” and “sloppy,” and described Mastriano as a “dangerous religious zealot.” Following Brown’s allegations, the University of Brunswick said they would review internal processes for awarding doctorates. Additionally, historians scrutinized Mastriano’s book about World War I Sgt. Alvin York for being incorrect.
In 2002, Mastriano wrote an academic paper that called the U.S. military’s “hypersensitivity to civilian deaths” an “enormous weakness.” He further added that U.S. war strategies were predictable and claimed Saddam Husein took advantage of their “reluctance to bomb civilian targets.”
In 2001, Mastriano published his thesis which warned that the U.S. would be vulnerable to a left-wing “Hitlerian Putsch” that would dismantle the military and further destroy democracy. He further described how the future collapse of the U.S. military would lead to the rise of a left-wing leader obsessed with “political correctness” in a struggle that would ultimately kill millions of Americans.
2024: Mastriano Filed A “Defamation, Racketeering, And Antitrust Lawsuit” Against The University Of New Brunswick For The Criticism Of His World War I Research. According to Spotlight PA, “A Pennsylvania state senator and former GOP gubernatorial candidate whose support for Donald Trump drew him to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has sued a Canadian university and nearly two dozen academics over criticism of him and his research into World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York. State Sen. Doug Mastriano's defamation, racketeering, and antitrust lawsuit, filed in western Oklahoma federal court, seeks at least $10 million in damages from defendants including history professors and the University of New Brunswick.” [Spotlight PA, 9/20/24]
HEADLINE: “University Makes New Review Of Mastriano’s Doctoral Research” [Associated Press, 11/2/22]
2022: The University Of New Brunswick Announced As A Result Of The Questions Surrounding Mastriano’s Ph.D. It Would Review Its Internal Processes For Awarding Doctorates. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “The Canadian university recently announced that, as a result of questions surrounding Mastriano’s Ph.D., it is reviewing its internal processes for awarding doctorates.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/16/22]
Jeffrey Brown, A Professor From The University Of New Brunswick, The School Where Mastriano Got His PhD From, Said Mastriano Earned A PhD On “Shaky Grounds” And Described His Academic Work As “Atrocious.” According to CBC, “Students at the University of New Brunswick are pushing their university for details about its role in granting Doug Mastriano the crowning academic achievement on his CV in 2013. A UNB associate professor listed on Doug Mastriano's doctoral dissertation describes it as atrocious academic work and says he can't understand why the paper includes his name. ‘This dissertation has bothered me for nine years,’ Jeffrey Brown told CBC News in an interview. ‘[Mastriano] was awarded a PhD on very shaky grounds.’” [CBC, 10/5/22]
Mastriano Wrote And Published A Book On The World War I Exploits Of Sgt. Alvin C. York, Which Caused Academic Backlash. According to Associated Press, “The World War I exploits of Sgt. Alvin C. York netted Gary Cooper a best actor Academy Award and Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano a degree, a book deal — and academic backlash. Mastriano had a deep interest in York long before he led anti-mask protests last year, fought tirelessly to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s reelection loss and showed up outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.” [Associated Press, 3/20/21]
James Gregory, A University Of Oklahoma History Graduate Student, Filed Complaints About Mastriano’s Book With Mastriano’s Publisher And His Canadian University. According to the Associated Press, “In the past two months, University of Oklahoma history graduate student James Gregory has filed complaints with Mastriano’s publisher and with the Canadian university. ‘Many of his citations are completely false and do not support his claims whatsoever,’ Gregory said in a Jan. 25 email to the University Press of Kentucky, identifying footnotes with no apparent relation to their corresponding book passages.” [Associated Press, 3/20/21]
Gregory: “Any Work Done Using Mastriano Is Built Upon Poor, False, Research.” According to the Associated Press, “‘Any work done using Mastriano is built upon poor, false research,’ Gregory wrote.” [Associated Press, 3/20/21]
Gregory Was Interested In Mastriano’s Book For His Own Research, But Had Trouble Verifying His Sources, And He Then Sent The Kentucky Publisher 35 Citations He Considered Fraudulent. According to the Associated Press, “Gregory became interested in Mastriano’s book as part of his own research into other members of York’s squad, but had difficulty verifying some of Mastriano’s references. After an Associated Press review found additional questionable footnotes, Gregory sent the Kentucky publisher 35 citations he considers fraudulent.” [Associated Press, 3/20/21]
Researchers Questioned Mastriano’s Claim That He Conclusively Proved York’s Exact Location When His Lethal Marksmanship Played Out In October 1918. According to the Associated Press, “For more than a decade, other researchers have questioned Mastriano’s claim to have conclusively proved exactly where York was when his lethal marksmanship played out in October 1918.” [Associated Press, 3/20/21]
Researchers Argued That His Research Was “Plagued With Errors” And That The Trail To The Battle Location He Helped Built Takes Visitors To The Wrong Location. According to the Associated Press, “They argue his research is plagued with errors and that a walking trail to the battle location he helped build actually takes visitors to the wrong spot.” [Associated Press, 3/20/21]
Gregory And Other Researchers Were Skeptical Of Mastriano’s Claim That The Photo On The Cover Of His Book Was From When York Led German Officers And Prisoners. According to the Associated Press, “Gregory and other researchers are also highly skeptical of Mastriano’s assertion that the photo on his book’s dust jacket shows York leading German officers and other prisoners. The official U.S. Army Signal Corps caption from 1918 indicates it was taken almost two weeks before York’s heroics.” [Associated Press, 3/20/21]
The Academic Press That Published Mastriano’s Book Asked Him To Review Errors, And Planned To Publish A Corrected Version The Following Year. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “The academic press that published a Pennsylvania state senator’s book about World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York has asked him to review a list of factual errors and sourcing issues in the book and the press’ director said Tuesday it plans to publish a corrected version sometime next year.” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/8/21]
The Director Of University Press Of Kentucky Said They Would Allow Mastriano To Respond To The Sources In Question Before Preparing Their Final List And Corrections For Printing, That Would Be Reviewed By An Outside Scholar For Confirmation. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “University Press of Kentucky director Ashley Runyon outlined plans for the potential corrections and revisions to Sen. Doug Mastriano’s book in emails Tuesday to The Associated Press and to another researcher looking into York’s 1918 acts of heroism while fighting in a particular battle in France. Runyon said the press ‘will allow the author the opportunity to respond to the sources in question before preparing our final list of errata and corrections for a new printing. The verified sources and other corrections will also be reviewed by an outside scholar for confirmation.’” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/8/21]
Runyon Said The Press Does Not Normally Ask For An Outside Review For Reprints But This Was To Add An External Layer Of Review To Ensure Accuracy. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “She said the press does not typically ask for an outside review for reprints but was ‘adding this external layer of review to ensure the accuracy of any corrections in the reprint.’” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/8/21]
HEADLINE: “Mastriano-Penned 2002 Paper Justifying Civilian Casualties Raises Eyebrows Among War Scholars” [Penn Capital-Star, 5/5/22]
2002: Mastriano Wrote An Academic Paper That Described The U.S. Military’s “Hypersensitivity To Civilian Deaths” An “Enormous Weakness.” According to Penn Capital-Star, “A leading candidate in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary race for governor wrote in a 2002 academic paper that the U.S. should ‘not hesitate’ to strike at locals if a military regime is nearby, describing the U.S. military’s ‘hypersensitivity’ to civilian deaths as an ‘enormous weakness.’ The remarks appeared in a 2002 academic paper written by state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, who is currently seeking the state’s Republican nomination for governor.” [Penn Capital-Star, 5/5/22]
2001: Mastriano Published A Thesis That Warned That The United States Would Be Vulnerable To A Left-Wing “Hitlerian Putsch” That Would Dismantle The Military And Destroy Democracy. According to the Washington Post, “Two decades before he was Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, Doug Mastriano warned in a master’s thesis that the United States was vulnerable to a left-wing ‘Hitlerian Putsch’ that would begin with the dismantling of the U.S. military and end with the destruction of the country’s democracy. The thesis, written in 2001 when Mastriano was a major at the Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College, is highly unusual for its doom saying and often fearful point of view, and its prediction that only the U.S. military could save the country from the depredations of the country’s morally debauched civilian leaders. The paper is posted on an official Defense Department website and lists Mastriano as the author at a time when he said he received a master’s degree from the school.” [Washington Post, 5/20/22]