Pittsburgh Leaders Slam Doug Mastriano for his Recruitment of Antisemitic Extremists on Gab, as More Republicans Call Out His Dangerous Beliefs - Shapiro For Governor
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July 22, 2022Press Releases

Pittsburgh Leaders Slam Doug Mastriano for his Recruitment of Antisemitic Extremists on Gab, as More Republicans Call Out His Dangerous Beliefs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 22, 2022

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SPA Press, Press@joshshapiro.org

Pittsburgh Leaders Slam Doug Mastriano for his Recruitment of Antisemitic Extremists on Gab, as More Republicans Call Out His Dangerous Beliefs

“Doug Mastriano is paying the platform that helped hone the [Tree of Life] killer’s murderous ideology because he believes the hatred on those message boards will translate into an election victory for him on Nov. 8.” —State Rep. Dan Frankel

PENNSYLVANIADoug Mastriano is coming under fire from all sides for paying Gab for its antisemitic, alt-right extremists to join his campaign. Yesterday, Jewish community leaders, elected officials, and faith leaders in Pittsburgh called out Mastriano – and members of his own party released a blistering statement criticizing Mastriano for his association with “a cesspool of bigotry and antisemitism.”

In Pittsburgh, State Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, State Representative Dan Frankel, Councilman Reverend Ricky Burgess, and Jewish community leader Jeffrey Letwin called out Mastriano for “mining this racist, antisemitic haven for votes.” At the same time, the Republican Jewish Coalition – the same group that has endorsed candidates like Ron Johnson and Adam Laxalt – called on Mastriano to end his association with Gab. In case you missed it, check out the most recent coverage of Pennsylvanians of all political stripes speaking out about Doug Mastriano, and expressing outrage over his extremism.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: A Jewish Republican group is denouncing Doug Mastriano’s links to an extremist social-media site
By William Bender, 7/21/22

Doug Mastriano is facing blistering criticism from Jewish leaders — both Democrats and Republicans — following the disclosure that he’s using Gab, a social-media site favored by extremists and antisemites, to advertise his Republican campaign for governor.

The head of the national Republican Jewish Coalition on Thursday called on Mastriano to leave Gab, where he has 38,000 followers and has been posting frequently. Hours later state and local Democrats spoke out in Pittsburgh against Mastriano’s controversial strategy. A Pennsylvania-based coalition of Jewish Democrats also criticized his affiliation with the site.

“Jewish voters expect candidates to condemn antisemitism, whether it comes from the far left or the far right — and to shun those who espouse it,” said Matt Brooks, the Republican Jewish Coalition’s executive director. “We strongly urge Doug Mastriano to end his association with Gab, a social network rightly seen by Jewish Americans as a cesspool of bigotry and antisemitism.”

Click to watch a segment from KDKA

Click to watch a segment from WPXI

WTAE (ABC Pittsburgh): Mastriano called out for campaign ties to social media platform critics say is filled with hate speech

By Bob Mayo, 7/21/22

PITTSBURGH — Republican candidate for governor Doug Mastriano has spent thousands of dollars with a far-right social media platform critics say is filled with hate speech. Pittsburgh Jewish community leaders, some area elected officials and Democrat Josh Shapiro’s campaign for governor are calling out Mastriano over the association with the platform known as Gab.

“Doug Mastriano paid Gab thousands of dollars for alt-right anti-Semitic extremists to be part of his campaign. Gab is known as a haven for white supremacists, violent extremists and anti-Semites, and boasts the ability for its users, including Qanon accounts, to spew vile hatred with little moderation,” said Jeffrey Letwin, a Pittsburgh Jewish community leader. […]

“We must call it out when we see it, even if it’s coming from a state senator and a candidate for governor. Doug Mastriano is mining this racist anti-Semitic haven for votes,” said state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill. “Doug Mastriano is paying the platform that helped hone the killer’s murderous ideology because he believes the hatred on those message boards will translate into an election victory for him on Nov. 8.”

WESA (NPR Pittsburgh): Local Democrats denounce Mastriano ties to right-wing social media site
By Chris Potter, 7/21/22

Pittsburgh-area Democrats gathered Thursday to denounce Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano for supporting Gab, the right-wing social media site that provided an online home for the man charged with killing 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.

“Doug Mastriano is mining this racist, antisemitic haven for votes,” thundered state Rep. Dan Frankel, who represents Pittsburgh’s heavily Jewish Squirrel Hill neighborhood. […]

Mastriano, who typically does not respond to media inquiries, has not commented publicly on the controversy. But last weekend, Gab founder Andrew Torba spoke on it for more than a half-hour in an online video. Torba denounced media outlets as “liars” and “deceivers,” noting that $5,000 is a trivial sum in a statewide political campaign. He also said it was unfair to single out the content on Gab for criticism.

Pittsburgh City Paper: Pittsburgh’s Jewish community calls out Mastriano’s activity on prominent ‘hate speech’ platform
By Jamie Wiggan, 7/21/22

Local Jewish leaders are calling out Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s involvement in a right-wing social media platform blamed in part for inspiring the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. […]

The speakers painted Mastriano as a divisive figure who could endanger minorities throughout the commonwealth, and instead called on the small crowd to support Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro.

“Doug Mastriano is mining this racist, anti-Semitic haven for votes,” said State Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Squirrel Hill). “He’s put Gab on the payroll and publicly traded loads of supportive messages with its leaders.” […]

“We need to recognize that this is certainly something that this gentleman has done purposefully, with a very specific purpose of trying to reach out to a class of folks, groups of individuals who have nothing but hate in their heart,” Costa said. “White supremacy, anti-Semitic language, we know that’s what’s at stake here.”

Forward: Pittsburgh Jewish officials call out GOP nominee for governor for association with far-right social media platform
By Jacob Kornbluh, 7/21/22

A group of Democratic officials and Jewish leaders on Thursday condemned Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, for his association with Gab, a social media platform for far-right extremists and an echo chamber for antisemitic tropes. […]

In an interview, Frankel said that this gubernatorial election is “an existential moment” in the history of elections because of Mastriano’s past comments and embrace of antisemites. Frankel, who represents the Squirrel Hill Jewish community for the last 24 years and does his daily workout at the local Jewish Community Center, said by being “unresponsive” about the matter Mastriano has made it clear he views his engagement with Gab as politically beneficial for him. “And if we sit back, don’t call it out and don’t try and hold them accountable, shame on us,” he said.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Local lawmakers condemn Doug Mastriano for paying controversial Gab website for advertising campaign
By Julian Routh, 7/21/22

State lawmakers who represent the area surrounding Tree of Life synagogue — the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history — criticized Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano on Thursday for paying Gab, the social media platform frequented by the accused synagogue shooter before the 2018 massacre, for “consulting services” for his campaign. […]

Joining a group of leaders assembled by Mr. Shapiro’s campaign on Thursday, state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, called Gab a “festering cesspool of intolerance,” and said it helped radicalize and encourage accused Tree of Life gunman Robert Bowers, who used the site for antisemitic rants before killing 11 at the synagogue. […]

Mr. Mastriano could not be reached for comment. He has not responded to other media requests on this topic.

In a post on Gab Thursday in response to the group of officials gathering in Pittsburgh, Mr. Torba said Gab’s “only ‘ties’ to the Tree of Life shooting was the extensive cooperation we gave to law enforcement to help convict the shooter.” Mr. Bowers still awaits his trial in federal court.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Pittsburgh Jewish, Black leaders call out Mastriano for ties to Gab social platform
Ryan Deto, 7/21/22

A group of prominent Jewish and Black Pittsburgh leaders on Thursday condemned Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano for his ties to the right-wing social media platform Gab. […]

At a press conference at the City-County Building in Pittsburgh, state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, who is Jewish, strongly denounced Mastriano’s association with Gab. He accused Mastriano of mining the platform for votes.

“Gab, the platform that helped radicalize and encourage the gunman who attacked our synagogue, is a festering cesspool of intolerance,” said Frankel.

The Mastriano campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. […]

Officials said that Mastriano has posted on Gab dozens of times, and that many of the hundreds of replies on the site were filled with antisemtism and bigotry, some specifically directed at Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish.

Frankel said Shapiro is supporting his legislation to expand the state’s hate crime laws, and he added that Shapiro has experienced investigating Gab as attorney general of Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh City Council member Ricky Burgess, D-Point Breeze, is the most senior Black elected official in Pittsburgh and a pastor at the Nazarene Baptist Church.

He echoed Frankel’s condemnation of Mastriano and said it was a time for the Black, Jewish and other communities to unite, amid a rise in hate crimes across American cities.

Burgess urged voters to support Shapiro and Austin Davis, a state representative from McKeesport who, if elected, would become Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor.

Burgess said that the Shapiro/Davis ticket represents the symbolism of Black and Jewish groups uniting against bigotry and white supremacy.

“Our coalition is greater than theirs,” said Burgess.

Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle: Local Pittsburgh leaders speak out against Mastriano campaign’s use of Gab
David Rullo, 7/22/22

In a July 21 press conference organized by the Shapiro for Governor campaign, local politicians spoke out against Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate and State Sen. Doug Mastriano campaign’s use of the social media site Gab and antisemitic comments left by users.

It was recently revealed in campaign finance reports that Mastriano and his campaign paid Gab $5,000 for consulting fees. Since those fees were paid, according to a July 14 Huffington Post story, all new Gab members automatically follow Mastriano, Gab founder Andrew Torba and several far-right media outlets.

Numerous posts authored by the Mastriano campaign included antisemitic comments as a reply.

[…]

The alleged shooter at the Tree of Life building was a user of the platform posting neo-Nazi propaganda and calling for violence against the Jewish community.

State Sen. Jay Costa called Mastriano’s use of Gab “horrendous” and a means to attract “people with hate in their heart.”

Costa pointed out that Mastriano has posted 60 times on the social media site, and that many of those posts have attracted comments attacking Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro.

State Rep. Dan Frankel, who represents the 23rd District including Squirrel Hill where the Tree of Life is located, began his statement by describing the vulnerability felt by the Jewish community since Oct. 27.

Frankel called Gab a “festering cesspool of intolerance” where not only Jews but “Black and brown people, LGBTQ plus people and Muslims are all targets of hate and derision, all painted as a threat to the white nationalist vision that unifies Gab users.”

He said that Mastriano paid the platform because he believes it will translate into an election victory on Nov. 8.

Pittsburgh Councilman Ricky Burgess linked Mastriano, Gab, the Tree of Life and Charleston AME shootings, calling it the “same brand of hatred.”

He called on local leaders to stand against hate and violence.

Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesperson Marissa Nahem said the decision to hold the press conference was made after it became public that Mastriano was paying Gab a consulting fee.

She said the Republican candidate was “unfit to be governor.”

In comments to the Chronicle following the press conference, Frankel said that the upcoming election is an “existential issue” and called Mastriano’s posts “inconsistent with ones that, I think, most Pennsylvanians embrace, which is where the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania embraces its diversity and tolerance and where all law-abiding people or groups won’t tolerate bigotry, antisemitism or racism of any kind.”

Democrats aren’t the only ones condemning Mastriano’s use of Gab and the antisemitic comments posted on his page.

Matt Brooks, executive director of the national Republican Jewish Coalition, on Thursday called on Mastriano to leave Gab.

“Jewish voters expect candidates to condemn antisemitism, whether it comes from the far left or far right – and to shun those who espouse it,” Brooks wrote in a statement. “We strongly urge Doug Mastriano to end his association with Gab, a social network rightly seen by Jewish Americans as a cesspool of bigotry and antisemitism.” PJC

Despite attempts, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle was unable to reach the Mastriano campaign for comment.

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