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Doug Mastriano and White Supremacist Leader Double Down on Payment to Recruit Supporters

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Mastriano and Gab CEO Defend the Alt-Right Platform and Mastriano’s Paying for Their Extremist Membership to Join His Campaign

Doug Mastriano is defending his payment of thousands of dollars to Gab — an alt-right social media platform that was “key” in the Tree of Life shooting, where one of its users murdered eleven Jewish Pennsylvanians and injured others — to get their extremist followers to join his campaign.

After ignoring reporters’ inquiries and blocking the reporter who uncovered Mastriano’s strategy, Mastriano doubled down on his ties to Gab, retweeting a tweet calling his involvement with Gab’s dangerous followers “100% legit & creative campaigning.” As SpotlightPA’s Stephen Caruso notes, this “means his campaign decided to pay $5k to be put in front of Gab’s far-right audience.” Meanwhile, he issued no response to the antisemitic, racist comments the Gab followers he paid for have since posted on his page.

Gab CEO and founder Andrew Torba also doubled down on his support for Mastriano, filming a video “about the mainstream media attack on Gab and on Doug Mastriano,” reiterating his support for Mastriano — even detailing an event he attended of Mastriano’s last week — attacking Attorney General Josh Shapiro, promoting dangerous election conspiracies, and criticizing MSNBC’s coverage of Mastriano and Gab. In the live stream, Torba reiterated that he endorsed Mastriano to build “a coalition of Christian nationalists at the local and state level.” Just two months ago, after accepting Torba’s endorsement, Mastriano told him, “Thank God for what you’ve done.”

“Gab is a white supremacy haven that was ‘key’ in the murder of eleven Jewish Pennsylvanians, but instead of condemning the antisemitic hatred spewed by their extremist followers, Doug Mastriano paid thousands of dollars because he wants these people to join his campaign,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Sam Newton. “Mastriano’s campaigning for the support of violent extremists, antisemites, and white supremacists, not everyday Pennsylvanians. While he continues to double down on his dangerous hate, Attorney General Josh Shapiro will focus on keeping communities across the Commonwealth safe and addressing the issues that matter most to Pennsylvanians — like protecting rights, lowering costs, and improving education.”

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