Doug Mastriano roasted online for spreading fake drone story featuring prop ship from ‘Star Wars’

Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) has come under fire for spreading an image of a prop TIE Fighter from “Star Wars,” which he mistook for a Chinese drone that crashed off the shore of Orange Beach, Ala.

Mastriano shared the image on X on Monday night, which featured the false “Breaking News”
headline, followed by, “Crashed drone in Orange Beach retrieved from water, and taken to undisclosed location for further investigation.” It’s unclear if the original post was satire or not.

Regardless, Mastriano then took the opportunity to chastise the Biden administration for not taking action to “get to the bottom of the unidentified drones,” citing last year’s Chinese surveillance balloon incident. Mastriano also said instances like this “should be viewed as a threat to our nation and citizens and action is long overdue.”

It is inconceivable that the federal government has no answers nor has taken any action to get to the bottom of the unidentified drones. The fecklessness of this administration was on display last year when a Chinese surveillance balloon was allowed to fly over the entire… pic.twitter.com/qWqyH3dnkI

— Senator Doug Mastriano (@SenMastriano) December 16, 2024

Mastriano did not respond to a Heartland Signal request to comment or add context to his X post.

Several prominent political figures did, however, comment on Mastriano’s post.

I take the actual drone story seriously but re the below, I’m pretty sure Red Leader Garven Dreis shot down that TIE fighter in ep IV A New Hope https://t.co/MD4nRsZqQ7

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 17, 2024

You’re laughing at Doug Mastriano but if the U.S. is actually under attack by TIE Fighters we’re cooked (except for @SonnyBunch).

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) December 17, 2024

GOOD GOD https://t.co/gX7PDhebnP

— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) (@AdamKinzinger) December 17, 2024

Mastriano did respond on his personal X account by deflecting blame to the Philadelphia Inquirer, who asked him if he knew the image was a prop. Mastriano claims he was using “an obvious Star Wars prop as a meme.”

Mastriano is a U.S. Army veteran who has served in the Pennsylvania Senate since 2019. In 2022, he was the Republican nominee in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race, where he lost to now-Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) by 792,660 votes (over 14 percentage points).

Mastriano is an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump, and he has routinely spread lies about the 2020 presidential election. The senator was hit with an ethics complaint last January to investigate his actions connected the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Mastriano’s campaign committee reportedly used $3,354 to charter busses used to transport passengers to Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally which eventually turned into the insurrection. Photo and video evidence also show him passing through police barriers after rioters tore them down.