Doug Mastrian, Rick Sacconeo
As scrutiny increases on Doug Mastriano’s participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, new evidence suggests he was at the Capitol when things turned violent.
Now that he’s Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor, there is increased scrutiny on Doug Mastriano’s participation in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Though Mastriano has repeatedly claimed he departed when things turned violent, new photos and video have surfaced that seem to indicate Mastriano was indeed on hand when violence erupted as supporters of then-President Donald Trump tried to stop the certification of 2020 election results.
According to NBC News, online sleuths Sedition Hunters claim to have new photos and video of Mastriano on the Capitol grounds just before the rioters breached a police barricade line on the eastern side of the Capitol and gained access to the building.
The images, reviewed by NBC News, appear to show Mastriano holding up his cellphone as rioters on the front line of the mob fight police on the steps of the Capitol. Rioters were able to breach the Capitol rotunda minutes later, meaning Mastriano was in fact on hand when violence broke out.
After a photo was posted to Facebook of Mastriano with “fellow patriot” (and former state lawmaker and two-time congressional candidate from Pittsburgh) Rick Saccone at the protest which led to the insurrection, Mastriano claimed he left the Capitol area when things turned violent.
“When it was apparent that this was no longer a peaceful protest, my wife and I left the area and made our way out of the area,” Mastriano said after the attack. “At no point did we enter the Capitol building, walk on the Capitol steps, or go beyond police lines.”
A few months later, Sedition Hunters produced photos that appear to show Mastriano and his wife walking on the Capitol lawn and Mastriano walking past a police barricade that had been breached by rioters.
We already know the state Sen. from Franklin County used campaign funds to pay for people to bus down to Washington, DC for Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, and that he’s been one of the most extreme election deniers.
Who knows what else we’ll learn as the public hearings on the insurrection and Trump’s conspiracy to overturn the election continue, and/or if Mastriano ever does sit down to talk to the Jan. 6 committee.
Patrick Berkery Patrick Berkery has worked as a writer and editor for more than 20 years, handling nearly every task imaginable from covering breaking news, to producing podcasts, to interviewing Ozzy Osbourne. Patrick is a native of South Jersey and currently lives in South Philadelphia.
