- Pennslyvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano prayed Congress would "disregard" the 2020 election results.
- Video of a Zoom call showed him praying that lawmakers would "rise up with boldness" on January 6.
In a December 2020 meeting with Christian nationalists, State Sen. Doug Mastriano prayed Congress would "rise up" on January 6 and "disregard" Pennsylvania's election results, according to a video published by Rolling Stone on Friday.
Mastriano — the Republican candidate for governor in Pennsylvania — participated in a Zoom meeting held by Jim Garlow, a former megachurch pastor associated with the New Apostolic Reformation, a far-right Christian movement. According to Rolling Stone, Garlow believes the Bible should dictate how the US government works, a Christian nationalist principle.
During the "Global Prayer for Election Integrity" call, Mastriano led a prayer over the 2020 election results in which he made many biblical and historical references tying together Christianity and the US.
"We remember 1776, our Declaration of Independence, speaking God's truth and word over what would become the United States of America," he said. Mastriano also mentioned Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Gettysburg Address and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which a "strong Christian man" confronted the hijackers and said, "let's roll" — an apparent reference to Todd Beamer, who was on United Airlines flight 93 that crashed in Pennslyvania.
"God, I ask you that you help us roll in these dark times, that we fear not the darkness," he continued, going on to invoke more biblical references.
"I pray that we'll take responsibility — we'll seize the power that we had given to us by the Constitution, and as well by You, providentially. I pray for the leaders also in the federal government, God, on the 6th of January that they will rise up with boldness," he said.
Mastriano also prayed that God would bless letters "outlining the fraud in Pennslyvania" that he was sending to Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Kevin McCarthy at Trump's request, and that the letters would embolden them to "stand firm and disregard what has happened in Pennslyvania until we have an investigation."
President Joe Biden won Pennslyvania in the 2020 election and a narrow "risk-limiting audit" was completed. No evidence of widespread fraud was ever uncovered.
Right Wing Watch first reported Mastriano's participation in the prayer call in May 2021, but Rolling Stone was first to publish the video.
Mastriano, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, faced criticism earlier this year over his ties to far-right extremists and Christian nationalists. Campaign finance filings showed Mastriano paid $5,000 in consulting fees to Gab, a social network founded by self-described Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, Insider's Charles Davis reported.
Christian nationalism is an ideology that asserts Christianity and the US are intrinsically linked and therefore the religion should have a privileged position in American society. It has experienced a mainstream resurgence as lawmakers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert embrace its ideals.
A representative for Mastriano did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.