Videos Contradict State Lawmaker's Claim He Left Capitol While It Was 'Still Peaceful'

A community of online sleuths placed Pennsylvania GOP state Sen. Doug Mastriano near the Capitol steps well after clashes with police began.

A Republican state senator who was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 appears in videos and images that contradict his claims that he never breached police lines and left the area before violence broke out. Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, whose campaign spent thousands on buses to ferry supporters to D.C. for the rally that led to the attack, said after the riot that he did not enter the Capitol, walk on its steps or go beyond police lines; and that he left the area with his wife “when it was apparent that this was no longer a peaceful protest.” He released a statement at the time condemning the violence and calling for those who broke the law to be prosecuted. But in videos analyzed by members of the online “Sedition Hunters” community and posted on social media over the weekend, Mastriano and his wife appeared to be in a crowd as it breached a police line. Mastriano was wearing one of his campaign hats and a dark-green scarf on the day.