Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks to supporters during an election night campaign event at the Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, Pa., Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania state Sen. Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia) called for the Senate Ethics Commission to investigate his colleague Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) for his actions in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

In a news conference on Jan. 2 (which is Mastriano’s birthday), Haywood said he believes that a collection of documented incidents involving Mastriano’s attendance at former President Donald Trump’s Stop the Steal speech at the Ellipse warrants an ethics investigation.

“All three branches of the federal government have referred to the events of January 6 as an insurrection and the participants in such events as insurrectionists,” Haywood said. “These are serious actions and conduct and statements, so serious that they require an investigation by the Senate of Pennsylvania to whether these actions violate the Senate ethics rules and whether the consequences of such action warrant the highest consequences of expulsion or reprimand or censure.”

In addition to spreading Trump’s false election fraud narrative, Mastriano also used campaign money to charter several buses to transport supporters to Washington D.C. for the rally. Following the attack, Mastriano claimed he left the rally when it was “no longer a peaceful protest.” However, video and photographic evidence showed Mastriano and his wife approaching the Capitol building while others nearby tossed police barricades aside.

Mastriano was subpoenaed and briefly questioned by the Jan. 6 House Select Committee. Although Mastriano and his lawyer left the call after not answering any questions, a transcript of the interview shows the select committee was prepared to ask Mastriano about a phone call he had with then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6.

Responding to the complaint, Mastriano said it was a “partisan PR stunt” and that Haywood was “using his bully pulpit to attack the freedom of speech of those he disagrees with.” He then added, “The Senator should tread carefully with this new precedent. Some could construe that his inflammatory anti-law enforcement rhetoric and actions led to the deadly and destructive riots across our commonwealth during the Summer of 2020.”

The Ethics Commission is currently comprised of six members (three from each party), and they will decide whether to further investigate Haywood’s claim within 30 days. Should a majority of the commission decide Mastriano’s actions violated the state’s ethics code, a full vote will come to the state Senate on whether to sanction Mastriano.

Mastriano was first elected to the Pennsylvania state Senate in 2018. He previously ran for governor in 2022 but lost to Democrat Josh Shapiro by 14 percentage points in the general election.