HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – The Pennsylvania State Senate Ethics Committee has decided against investigating State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Adams/Franklin) regarding his involvement in the events of January 6, 2021.
Earlier this year, State Senator Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia) had called for the committee to probe Mastriano’s actions.
In early January 2024, Haywood alleged, “(Mastriano) was part of a large, angry, armed, violent mob that was assembled at the Capitol to overturn the election.”
However, on March 7, Haywood informed reporters that the Ethics Committee had declined to investigate Mastriano for “his activities to spread a lie and disinformation” following the 2020 election.
Expressing his disappointment, Haywood stated, “I am very disappointed that the Ethics Committee concluded that no investigation was going to happen, and it is a terrible statement in my opinion about the body.”
Previously, Mastriano had dismissed Haywood’s ethics complaint as a “partisan PR stunt.”
Mastriano had orchestrated a hearing in Gettysburg in November to discuss false claims of 2020 election fraud. During this gathering, President Donald Trump addressed the attendees by phone. Later that day, Mastriano and his supporters attempted to visit the White House, but Mastriano was denied entry due to testing positive for COVID-19.
While Mastriano was present in Washington D.C. on January 6, he maintains that he did not enter the Capitol or breach police lines. He has reiterated that he and his wife departed the area “when it was apparent that this was no longer a peaceful protest.”
Mastriano’s attorney, Timothy C. Parlatore, informed the U.S. House January 6 committee in 2022 that the State Senator had cooperated with the FBI, stating he was unaware of any planned insurrection or coordination behind the attack on the Capitol.
Parlatore asserted, “He previously was approached and sat for a voluntary interview with the FBI and told them the truth about everything that happened that day. The FBI cleared him.”
abc27 reached out to Mastriano’s office on Thursday afternoon for comment but has not received a response as of now.