Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, center, speaks to supporters of President Donald Trump as they demonstrate outside the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Harrisburg, Pa., after Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump to become 46th president of the United States. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Days after photos surfaced of Doug Mastriano wearing a Confederate uniform, video of the Republican gubernatorial candidate thanking pro-Confederate armed men guarding a General Lee statue has been uncovered.
Last week, photos of Doug Mastriano dressed as a Confederate soldier surfaced.
As if a man who could potentially become governor of Pennsylvania wearing a uniform embraced by white supremacists isn’t troubling enough, this week, its video of Mastriano thanking pro-Confederate armed men for “guarding” a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg.
Media Matters reported on the video, taken from a livestream on Mastriano’s Facebook page from July 4, 2020. Mastriano is seen approaching a car with a Confederate flag and thanking people with firearms for being there: “Friends, thanks for being here. I’m Sen. Mastriano. … It’s good to see you guys.” He then spends time making small talk, saying, “Thanks for being vigilant.”
During another portion of the video, Mastriano is heard speaking with someone wearing a hybrid Confederate-US flag, telling him: “You’re looking good there, man. I can’t think of a better cape.”
The video was posted to Twitter by Media Matters reporter Eric Hananoki:
Mastriano’s view of the Confederacy has been in focus in recent days after the 2017 photos of him posing in a Confederate uniform for a faculty photo at the Army War College in Carlisle surfaced.
His opponent in the race for governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, blasted Mastriano for choosing to wear a uniform that is symbolic of the Confederate Army’s fight to keep Black people enslaved.
“It’s deeply offensive and proves who he is, once again. He’s unfit to be Governor,” Shapiro wrote on Twitter.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) trolled Mastriano with a callback to his presence at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021:
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