On Tuesday, Pennsylvania state Senator Art Haywood announced that he would file a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee calling for an investigation into Senator Doug Mastriano’s role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 

In response, Philip Hensley-Robin, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, issued the following statement: 

“Actions have consequences, yet Sen. Mastriano has never been called to account for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. We endorse Sen. Haywood’s call for an investigation, and we urge the Senate Ethics Committee to hold Sen. Mastriano accountable for his participation in the attempted insurrection. 

“The day after he was sworn-in for his second term, Mastriano attended the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. Although he denies participating in violence, video evidence shows that Mastriano crossed police barricades and was mere feet from the Capitol building immediately before it was breached. The Senator also proudly organized several buses to take extremists from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. for the event, and boasted on social media about it. So far, 72 Pennsylvanians have been indicted on charges related to January 6.

“Even before he participated in January 6, Mastriano showed blatant disregard for the truth, demonstrating that he would stop at nothing in his quest to overturn the will of the voters. In November 2020, he hosted a Senate hearing featuring false, unsworn testimony from Rudy Giuliani and other advisers to former President Donald Trump. Mastriano has been an integral part of the campaign to lie about and overturn the results of the 2020 election and throw out the votes of millions of Pennsylvania voters. 

“Pennsylvania voters deserve elected officials who honor their oath to uphold the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions. We encourage the Senate Ethics Committee to fully investigate the allegations detailed in Sen. Haywood’s complaint and hold Sen. Mastriano accountable for his attempts to sow distrust in our elections and undermine our democracy.”