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GOP Nominee Doug Mastriano to Speak to Radical Conspiracy Theorists Ahead of Election

PA state Sen. Doug Mastriano (left) poses with former state Rep. Rick Saccone at U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Photo shared by Saccone on Facebook)

In April 2021, business consultant and right-wing podcast host Clay Clark(link is external) organized a conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, aimed at defying national and local restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. A radical(link is external) right-wing(link is external) conspiracy theorist(link is external), Clark filled the event with a variety of like-minded COVID-19, election, and QAnon conspiracy theorists such as Michael Flynn(link is external), Greg Locke(link is external), Scott McKay,(link is external) Ann Vandersteel(link is external), Mark Sherwood(link is external), Gene Ho(link is external), Patrick Byrne(link is external), Stella Immanuel(link is external), Jackson Lahmeyer(link is external), Leon Benjamin(link is external), Mark Burns(link is external), and Mike Lindell(link is external).

The event was such a success among the MAGA crowd that Clark decided to launch a nationwide “ReAwaken America”(link is external) tour to bring his carnival of misinformation to churches all across the country. Later this month, the tour will be stopping in Manheim, Pennsylvania(link is external), and listed among the speakers is Doug Mastriano, the election-denying(link is external), Christian nationalism-promoting(link is external) Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania (Mastriano can be seen in the lower right-hand corner of the promotional image below).

Mastriano already(link is external) has deep ties to the far-right(link is external) fringes(link is external) of the conservative movement(link is external), having appeared earlier this year at a QAnon conference that was rife with wild conspiracy theories(link is external). Organizers of that conference even presented him with a “Sword of David” because, they said, “you are fighting for our religious rights in Christ Jesus.”

Clark's "ReAwaken America" events have likewise been overflowing with conspiracy theories, Christian nationalism, Trump cultism, and violent rhetoric. Mastriano is set to be on hand October 21 and 22, courting attendees just weeks before the midterm elections.

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