¶ Overview
Although he denied it, Mastriano embodied the Christian Nationalist movement and called the separation of church and state a “myth.”
Mastriano was an extremist who ran a memes Facebook group and posted offensive and Islamophobic content.
In 2022, Mastriano also promoted QAnon conspiracies on his social media, attended a far-right conference promoting QAnon, and touted the endorsement of Rabbi Joseph Kolakowski, who spoke favorably of the QAnon movement and claimed Hitler was part lizard.
In 2017, Mastriano posed in a Confederate uniform for a faculty photo at the Army War College. In 2022, Mastriano thanked pro-Confederate armed men for supposedly defending a General Lee statue.
¶ Mastriano Was A Christian Nationalist And Called The Separation Of Church And State A “Myth”
¶ Mastriano Embodied The Christian Nationalist Movement
2022: Mastriano Became The Most Prominent 2022 Candidate With Ties To Christian Nationalism. According to the Associated Press, “The victory party took on the feel of an evangelical worship service after Doug Mastriano won Pennsylvania’s Republican gubernatorial primary this month. As a Christian singer led the crowd in song, some raised their arms toward the heavens in praise. Mastriano opened his remarks by evoking Scripture: ‘God uses the foolish to confound the wise.’ He claimed Pennsylvanians’ freedom would be ‘snatched away’ if his Democratic opponent wins in November, and cast the election in starkly religious terms with another biblical reference: ‘Let’s choose this day to serve the Lord.’ Mastriano, a state senator and retired Army colonel, has not only made faith central to his personal story but has woven conservative Christian beliefs and symbols into the campaign — becoming the most prominent example this election cycle of what some observers call a surge of Christian nationalism among Republican candidates.” [Associated Press, 5/29/22]
HEADLINE: “Doug Mastriano Embodies A Christian Nationalist Movement As He Runs For Governor: ‘We Have The Power Of God’” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/4/22]
2022: Although Mastriano Denied Being A Christian Nationalist, Yale University Socialist Philip S. Gorski Said Mastriano Was The “Most Purely Distilled Version Of A Christian Nationalist Politician.” According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Mastriano, who worships at a Mennonite church, has said he does not identify as a Christian nationalist, telling the New Yorker last year, ‘Is this a term you fabricated? What does it mean and where have I indicated that I am a Christian Nationalist?’ Yet to Philip S. Gorski, a sociologist at Yale and coauthor of the The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy, Mastriano is perhaps the ‘most purely distilled version of a Christian nationalist politician I’ve run across.’” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/4/22]
¶ Mastriano Called The Separation Of Church And State A “Myth”
2022: Mastriano Called The Separation Of Church And State A “Myth.” According to the New York Times, “Mr. Mastriano, a state senator, retired Army colonel and prominent figure in former President Donald J. Trump’s futile efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, was addressing a far-right conference that mixed Christian beliefs with conspiracy theories, called Patriots Arise. Instead of focusing on issues like taxes, gas prices or abortion policy, he wove a story about what he saw as the true Christian identity of the nation, and how it was time, together, for Christians to reclaim political power. The separation of church and state was a ‘myth,’ he said. ‘In November we are going to take our state back, my God will make it so.’” [New York Times, 7/8/22]
¶ Mastriano Was A Far-Right Extremist Who Ran A Far-Right Memes Facebook Group And Posted Islamophobic Content
¶ Mastriano Posted Islamophobic Content On Social Media And Was The Administrator Of A Far-Right Memes Facebook Group
HEADLINE: “Conspiratorial, Anti-Muslim Memes Populated Facebook Page Of State Senate Candidate” [Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 5/6/19]
2019: Mastriano Shared Islamophobic Memes On His Social Media, Including Images Of Dark-Skinned Men “Snickering” As The Notre Dame Cathedral Burned, Suggesting They Were “Muslim Terrorists.” According to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, “One of the memes that Mastriano shared in the past month shows two dark-skinned men, apparently snickering as they watched the Notre Dame cathedral burn in Paris on April 15. The meme was shared to Mastriano’s Facebook page with the comment, ‘Something wicked this way comes.’ According to the fact-checking website Politifact, the image was among those that circulated in the wake of the fire to suggest that it had been an act by Muslim terrorists.” [Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 5/6/19]
2019: Mastriano Posted On Social Media: “Islam Wants To Kill Gay Rights, Judaism, Christianity And Pacifism.” According to the York Dispatch, “The Republican nominee hoping to replace former state Sen. Richard Alloway has joined the ranks of state and federal politicians called out for untrue and Islamophobic rhetoric. Doug Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army colonel and military historian, is running in the special election for the 33rd Senate District. His campaign Facebook page with 27,000 followers also features a plethora of content now facing criticism. ‘Islam wants to kill gay rights, Judaism, Christianity and pacifism,’ reads one of several posts on his page targeting Muslims.” [York Dispatch, 5/7/19]
HEADLINE: “PA Guv Candidate Doug Mastriano’s Secret Meme Page Is A Far-Right Rats’ Nest” [Daily Beast, 11/1/22]
2022: Mastriano Was The Administrator For A Meme Facebook Group, “Mastriano Memes,” Which Featured Xenophobic, Transphobic, And Anti-Semitic Memes. According to the Daily Beast, “Republican Pennsylvania governor candidate Doug Mastriano’s official campaign Facebook account is also helping with another group on the social media site: a Facebook group which has for months featured a stream of xenophobic, transphobic, and antisemitic memes. The campaign’s role in the public group—called ‘Mastriano Memes’—has not been previously reported, but Mastriano’s official Facebook account was still an active administrator for the page as of Monday evening. The page is a firehose of right-wing online content, sometimes hosting dozens of posts a day. Some of the most extreme content mocks trans people, fearmongers about migrants, and trafficks in antisemitic tropes. As an administrator, Mastriano—a state senator and dyed-in-the-wool election-denying conspiracy theorist—has control over what content stays up on the page. That would include posts about election fraud, such as one this week that Facebook fact-checkers flagged for promoting ‘false information,’ but remains on the page.” [Daily Beast, 11/1/22]
¶ Mastriano Was A Far-Right Extremist Wishing To Ban Gay Marriage, Deport Dreamers, Deny Climate Science, And Alienate Muslim Americans
HEADLINE: “Ban Gay Marriage, Deport Dreamers: Doug Mastriano’s Extreme Views Caught On Tape” [Rolling Stone, 8/16/22]
2018: Mastriano Said Islam Was Not “Not Compatible” With The U.S. Constitution, Denied Global Warming, And Denied Equality For LGBTQ Couples. According to Rolling Stone, “But in a radio interview in 2018, the former Army colonel let the mask slip all the way down, revealing himself as an extremist who would block equality for LGBTQ+ couples, who denies global warming, and who believes Islam is ‘not compatible’ with the United States Constitution. Mastriano made the extreme remarks during an interview in February 2018, as he announced a campaign for U.S. Congress. Mastriano spoke to hosts for WEEO News Talk 103.7, a conservative FM channel with a studio in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, near the Maryland border.” [Rolling Stone, 8/16/22]
2018: Mastriano Said DACA Recipients Should Be Deported And Disqualified From Obtaining U.S. Citizenship, Further Suggesting They Were Harming American Citizens. According to Rolling Stone, “Earlier in the same interview, Mastriano sounded off at length about DACA recipients — also known as ‘Dreamers’ — who were brought to America as undocumented immigrants by their parents. Mastriano argued that these young immigrants are ‘illegal and they shouldn’t be here.’ He insisted that they should not only be disqualified from citizenship, but, ‘They need to go back home.’ Mastriano suggested these young immigrants were harming U.S. citizens. ‘What about the American dreamers?’ he asked. ‘What about our people?’” Rolling Stone, 8/16/22]
¶ Mastriano Promoted QAnon And Was Connected To QAnon Followers
¶ Mastriano Promoted Qanon On His Social Media And Attended A Far-Right Conference Promoting QAnon
HEADLINE: “PA State Sen. Doug Mastriano Promoted Qanon On Twitter Over 50 Times” [Media Matters, 7/13/21]
HEADLINE: “A Top GOP Candidate For Governor Campaigned At An Event Promoting Qanon And Conspiracy Theories About 9/11” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/27/22]
2022: Mastriano Attended Far-Right Christian Conference Where They Played A QAnon Video “Claiming The World Is Experiencing A ‘Great Awakening’ That Will Expose ‘Ritual Child Sacrifice’ And A ‘Global Satanic Blood Cult.’” According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Last week in Gettysburg, a far-right Christian conference called ‘Patriots Arise for God and Country’ drew State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a GOP front-runner for Pennsylvania governor; Teddy Daniels, a candidate for lieutenant governor; Maryland gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox; Liz Harrington, a spokesperson for former President Donald Trump; and former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis. About 25 minutes into the two-day conference, organizers played a video claiming the world is experiencing a ‘great awakening’ that will expose ‘ritual child sacrifice’ and a ‘global satanic blood cult.’ Followers of QAnon believe a global cabal of Democrats and elites are trafficking children for sex and engaged in other demonic activity — but that all of this will soon be exposed. Images associated with the conspiracy theory were on display during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/27/22]
- The Video Also Featured 9/11 Conspiracy Theories, Anti-Vax Conspiracies, And Conspiracies That Hitler “Faked His Death.” According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “The video showed Friday featured a kind of greatest hits of conspiracy theories that have circulated for decades. It showed images of the Twin Towers collapsing on 9/11 — with the label ‘false flags.’ It claimed John F. Kennedy was assassinated because he ‘knew too much’ and posed a ‘high risk of cabal exposure,’ that vaccines amount to ‘genocide therapy,’ and that Hitler faked his death. It offered other conspiracy theories about the atomic bomb, the Spanish flu, 5G, the 2008 financial crisis — and, of course, the 2020 election.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/27/22]
¶ Mastriano Promoted The Endorsement Of Rabbi Joseph Kolakowski, Who Spoke Favorably Of The Qanon Movement
HEADLINE: “Mastriano Touts Endorsement From Rabbi Who Promoted QAnon Conspiracy ‘Reptilian’ Hitler Theory.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/1/22]
2022: Mastriano Touted Endorsement From Rabbi Joseph Kolakowski, Who Spoke Favorably Of The QAnon Movement And Claimed That Hitler Was Part Lizard. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “On Thursday, Mastriano touted the endorsement of Rabbi Joseph Kolakowski by sharing the article from the Epoch Times, a conservative publication affiliated with members of the controversial Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong. […] What the Epoch Times story did not mention is hundreds of internet posts and videos in which the 38-year-old rabbi shares unfounded claims of fraud in the 2020 election, expresses sympathy for Jan. 6 insurrectionists, and speaks favorably of the QAnon movement — a conspiracy theory that holds that former President Donald Trump and his allies are engaged in a secret war with pedophilic, blood-drinking Satanists. […] On YouTube, Kolakowski has espoused more outlandish ideas, including a theory that Adolf Hitler and other malevolent world leaders are part lizard. ‘There’s a reason why he never took off his boots,’ the rabbi says in one video of the Nazi dictator. ‘[It] was to hide the fact that his feet were reptilian in nature because he came from this nonhuman race, demonic race. He was a hybrid.’” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/1/22]
¶ Mastriano Posed In A Confederate Uniform At The Army War College And Thanked Pro-Confederate Armed Men For Supposedly Defending A Gen. Lee Statue
¶ Mastriano Posed In A Confederate Uniform For A Faculty Photo At The Army War College
HEADLINE: “Exclusive: Pennsylvania Candidate Mastriano Posed In Confederate Uniform At Army War College.” [Reuters, 8/27/22]
2017: Mastriano Posed In A Confederate Uniform For A Faculty Photo At The Army War College. According to Reuters, “Three years before retiring from the U.S. Army in 2017, Donald Trump-backed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano posed in Confederate uniform for a faculty photo at the Army War College, according to a copy of the photo obtained by Reuters.” [Reuters, 8/27/22]
- Faculty Of The Army War College Were Given The Option Of Dressing As A Historical Figure For The Photo, But A Majority Of The Faculty Photographed Were In Regular Attire. According to Reuters, “Faculty at the time had been given the option of dressing as a historical figure, people familiar with the photo said. At least 15 of the 21 faculty in the photo opted to appear in regular attire.” [Reuters, 8/27/22]
- Mastriano Was The Only Faculty Member Wearing A Confederate Uniform. According to Reuters, “Although one man wears a trench coat and sunglasses and another carries an aviator's helmet, Mastriano is the only one wearing a Confederate uniform.” [Reuters, 8/27/22]
2022: Mastriano’s Campaign Twitter Retweeted A Post That Said The Media Posting Stories Without Context Was “Total Bullshit.” According to Jack Posobies’s Twitter, “While in a faculty photo at the USA Army War College that’s a 40 min drive from Gettysburg. Media posting stories without context is total bullshit.”
[Twitter, @dougmastriano, 8/27/22]
HEADLINE: “In A Letter Released By The Shapiro Campaign, 60 Veterans Blast Doug Mastriano’s Confederate Uniform Photo As ‘Shameful.’” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/19/22]
2022: A Group Of Nearly 60 Veterans From Pennsylvania Signed A Letter Deriding Mastriano For Being Photographed In A Confederate Army Uniform Calling It Shameful, And An Insult To Those Of Us Who Served. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “A group of nearly 60 veterans from Pennsylvania signed a letter deriding Republican candidate for governor Doug Mastriano for being photographed wearing a Confederate Army uniform, calling it “shameful” and saying it’s “an insult to those of us who served and those who continue to serve.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/19/22]
2022: Mastriano Responded To The Backlash He Received For Wearing A Confederate Uniform By Saying, “The One Day I Decide To Dress As A Democrat, I Get Criticized.” According to WGAL, “Dozens of veterans have signed a letter slamming the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor over a years-old photograph in which he wore a Confederate uniform on the grounds of the Army War College in Carlisle. […] WGAL asked Mastriano about the letter, and he dismissed it, referencing how Southern Democrats once supported slavery around the time of the Civil War. ‘The one day I decide to dress as a Democrat, I get criticized,’ Mastriano said.” [WGAL, 9/20/22]
¶ Mastriano Thanked Pro-Confederate Armed Men For Supposedly Defending Gen. Lee Statue
HEADLINE: “In Facebook Video, Doug Mastriano Thanked Pro-Confederate Armed Men For Supposedly Defending Gen. Lee Statue.” [Media Matters, 8/29/22]
2022: During A Facebook Livestream, Mastriano Approached Armed Men Next To A Confederate Flag And Thanked Them For “Being Vigilant” In Protecting Robert E Lee’s Statue At Gettysburg. According to Media Matters, “In one of his regular Facebook livestreams, Doug Mastriano in 2020 approached armed men next to a Confederate flag and thanked them for ‘being vigilant’ in supposedly protecting Robert E. Lee’s statue at Gettysburg.” [Media Matters, 8/29/22]
- Mastriano Praised Someone For Wearing A Half American, Half Confederate Flag Saying He Could Not Think Of A Better Cape. According to Media Matters, “He also praised someone for wearing a half-American, half-Confederate flag, saying he ‘can't think of a better cape.’” [Media Matters, 8/29/22]