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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Martin Pengelly in New York

Doug Mastriano prayed for Trump to ‘seize the power’ before Capitol attack

A man in a blue suit raises a fist in a positive gesture to a crowd as he stands on a stage during a rally.
Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania’s Republican candidate for governor, prayed during a video call a week before the Capitol attack for Trump supporters to ‘seize the power’. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP

A week before the Capitol attack, on a video call organised by a member of a Christian nationalist group, a Pennsylvania state senator who is the Republican candidate for governor in the battleground state prayed that supporters of Donald Trump would “seize the power” on 6 January 2021.

Doug Mastriano attended the pro-Trump rally in Washington that day, after which supporters, told by Trump to “fight like hell” to overturn his election defeat, stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

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