The previously unreported photo was released by the US Army War College to Reuters under a Freedom of Information Act request. He named Mastriano among the 2013-14 faculty for the Department of Military Strategy, Plans and Operations, where he worked at the time. read more For years, the picture hung at the college, which took it down at the request of Reuters, saying the image did not reflect its values. Mastriano, a state senator who retired from the military in 2017, did not respond to requests for comment. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Lee Snover, chairman of the Northampton County Republican Party, played down the significance of the photo. “It happened years ago. There was something called the Civil War and it involved Confederate soldiers, so I’m not sure what the big deal is,” Snover said. Asked if she supported the college’s decision to remove the photo, she said, “I wouldn’t. I don’t like liberals tearing down our history.” Sam DeMarco, head of the Allegheny County Republican Party, which includes Pittsburgh, once wrote an op-ed expressing concerns about Mastriano’s electability. But he said the photo had been exaggerated by the candidate’s opponents. “This story is another example of why the media is looked down upon and distrusted by many on the right,” DeMarco told Reuters. The photography professors were given the option to dress up as a historical figure, people familiar with the photography said, but most opted for regular attire. Mastriano is the only one wearing a Confederate uniform. The displays of Confederate symbols can be seen as insensitive to those who see them as painful reminders of racial oppression and the Civil War that saw 11 rebellious Confederate states fight to keep black slaves. Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general who is running against Mastriano on the November ballot, said Saturday that his opponent voluntarily donned the traitor’s uniform. “This man is dangerous and out of touch,” Shapiro said at a campaign rally. “This man has no respect for you or our shared values of common humanity.” More than 33,000 soldiers from Pennsylvania died fighting for the Union during the Civil War, and the state was the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the conflict, which ended in a Union victory and inspired President Abraham’s speech Lincoln at Gettysburg. Mastriano’s district, Pennsylvania’s 33rd, includes Gettysburg. Democrat Austin Davis, a candidate for lieutenant governor and the first black American to serve as state representative for Pennsylvania’s 35th district, said it was “unconscionable” and “deeply hurtful” for Mastriano to wear an outfit that reflected black enslavement. “We have to beat him in November,” Davis tweeted. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Phil Stewart and Jarrett Renshaw. Editor: Daniel Wallis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
