Reuters initially obtained a copy of the photo from the War College, which is located in Carlisle, Pa., following a Freedom of Information Act request. The news agency said the photo is from the 2013-2014 school year at the Department of Military Strategy, Plans and Operations, where Mastriano worked at the time. Mastriano is seen wearing a gray uniform and hat and holding a Civil War-era long gun. Reuters reported that people familiar with the photo said that professors were allowed to dress up as historical figures for the photo at the time. One person in the photo is holding an aviator helmet, and at least one other person in the photo is clearly clothed, but Mastriano is the only one wearing a Confederate soldier’s uniform. Mastriano’s campaign and the War College did not immediately return requests from The Hill for comment. Confederate statues and symbols across the US have come under national scrutiny in recent years, especially after the 2015 shooting at a Black church in Charleston, SC. Reuters reported that the photo showing Mastriano in uniform was removed from the wall where it hung with other annual faculty photos after the store requested the photo. The Pentagon effectively banned the display of the Confederate flag in July 2020, not including it in an updated list of permitted flags. This decision came after the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis. The military has also sought to remove other symbols of segregation since rolling out the policy, Reuters reported. These colleges have the most ‘beautiful’ campuses in the country, according to Princeton Review Five takeaways from a bruising primary season The War College told Reuters that school officials reviewed all art, text and images presented at the college in 2020, but missed the photo with Mastriano. The college told Reuters the photo was removed because it did not meet its values. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate for governor, tweeted that Mastriano was wearing the “uniform of traitors” who fought to defend slavery. He said it was “deeply offensive” and showed he was unfit to be governor.
