title: Doug Mastriano

text: On January 22, 2019, Mastriano announced that he intended to run for the State Senate seat being vacated by Rich Alloway in the 33rd District, saying he "can't, in good conscience, stand aside", wanting to "serve his country in a new way". Mastriano won the Republican nomination for the May 21 election at a party conference held in Gettysburg on March 30, 2019.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Val DiGiorgio, the chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, said "Doug Mastriano is the kind of conservative candidate that reflects the values of South Central Pennsylvania and will be a key asset in helping advance the Republican agenda in Harrisburg."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On May 21, 2019, Mastriano defeated Democrat Sarah Hammond with 70% of the vote. Mastriano was sworn into the Pennsylvania Senate on June 10.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano has been criticized by some religious leaders and the Pennsylvania Democratic leadership for posts on his campaign's Facebook page, "Doug Mastriano Fighting for Freedom".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In May 2019, during his campaign for state senate, Mastriano spread Islamophobic content via several shared posts on his campaign Facebook page targeting Muslims. "Islam wants to kill gay rights, Judaism, Christianity and pacifism" read one of the posts, which critiqued the common "Coexist" bumper stickers. After the fire at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, Mastriano had shared an image that was circulated implying that it had been an act perpetrated by Muslim terrorists, with a caption reading "something wicked comes this way". He also made birtherist allusions regarding president Obama.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In April 2018, his campaign Facebook page shared an article headlined, "A Dangerous Trend: Muslims running for office".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: While various Democratic critics have condemned his Facebook posts, neither Mastriano, the county, nor the state Republican party responded publicly to questions raised about the issues.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On November 3, 2020, Mastriano was re-elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 33rd District by 68.7 percent of the vote. His Democratic opponent Rich Sterner had 31.3 percent.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano opposed efforts by Governor Tom Wolf to legalize recreational cannabis. He has said that cannabis "causes an increase in violence, mental illness and driving under the influence" and that ending the prohibition is "madness and stupid". In reference to states like California and Colorado that have legalized marijuana, Mastriano has said "[all] it's done is destroy their society," and turned the states "into rat holes and third-world backwashes."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In 2021, Mastriano was banned from attending closed-door Republican state senate caucus meetings after he publicly shared information that was meant to be confidential. After fellow members requested he be let back in, Mastriano was allowed to attend caucus meetings starting on May 23, 2022.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In early summer 2020, fictitious rumors circulated online that a July 4 protest near Gettysburg National Military Park would involve burning the US Flag and calling for the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials. No permit was issued and although the protest did not materialize, "hundreds" of individuals showed up to counter the fictitious protest, many in tactical gear, heavily armed, and brandishing Confederate flags. Profanity-laced shouting matches took place between this group and cemetery visitors throughout the afternoon. In October 2020, Mastriano introduced Senate Bill 1321 to protect such monuments from being removed or vandalized. Mastriano said "We don't have to destroy the past. We don't have to rewrite the past ... We should learn from it, understand it, and become even better."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On March 17, 2020, Mastriano called for suspension of the HIPAA law to allow the Department of Health share more COVID-19 data, including publishing the names and addresses of those infected with the virus.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On March 28, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mastriano proposed legislation that would allow Pennsylvania businesses to reopen if they followed CDC mitigation guidelines, subject to health department and law enforcement inspections.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano spoke during an anti-lockdown protest held on April 20, 2020, in support of reopening Pennsylvania during the state's ongoing pandemic.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On May 11, 2020, Mastriano called for the resignation of Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, saying she was "being complicit in the virus spreading through our elder care homes, triggered by unscientific and illogical directives, forcing them to readmit COVID-19 patients", and that she was "responsible for the deaths of approximately 2,500 of our citizens, and display[ing] the gross incompetence of someone unfit for office".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In May 2020, Mastriano wrote a letter signed by other Republican state legislators and a county commissioner calling for his home county of Franklin County to move out of the "red" phase of Governor Tom Wolf's reopening plan. At the time Franklin County's seat Chambersburg had one of the highest average daily growth rates of COVID-19 cases in the country. Mastriano's initiative was opposed by the mayor of Chambersburg and two county commissioners.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In response to a Pennsylvania mask-wearing order, Mastriano called for a mask-burning party at a rally in Gettysburg on July 22, 2020. At the rally, Mastriano urged people to reject store employees telling them to wear a mask and "tell them to mind your own business and say you're exempt."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In March 2022, Mastriano introduced legislation that would make it easier for Pennsylvanians who are diagnosed with COVID-19 to access dubious drug treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and ivermectin. Medical studies have shown that there is no medical benefit to those drugs in treating COVID-19.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In July 2022, following a string of mass shootings, including the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Mastriano introduced legislation that would arm teachers and staff inside of schools. The legislation was criticized by the president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers as "a dangerous, kind of scary proposal".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano was a vocal opponent of the implementation of municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) programs as applied by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. In an op-ed, Mastriano wrote, in part,:


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On November 5, 2020, Mastriano alleged various irregularities in the voting process for the U.S. presidential election and called for the resignation of the Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar. He sent a lengthy letter to Boockvar saying that "Nothing is more crucial to Americans than confidence that our voices will be heard through voting," and "Pennsylvanians no longer feel secure in casting their vote." On November 6, Mastriano and two other state senators, Michele Brooks and Scott Hutchinson, issued a joint memo calling for a full recount "in any counties where state law was broken, regardless of the Department of State's instructions, as well as in any precinct where questionable actions were demonstrated."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: At Mastriano's request, a public meeting of the Republican Party's Majority Policy Committee of the Pennsylvania Senate was held on November 25, 2020, at the Wyndham hotel near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, about claims of election fraud. The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, was organized by Mastriano (although Mastriano was not a member of the Policy Committee) and was chaired by Pennsylvania State Senator Dave Argall. President Donald Trump's legal team, including Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani, gave a lengthy presentation in the meeting, and Trump himself participated by phone. Trump made claims at the meeting alleging unfairness in the election process and saying he should be declared the winner. "This election was rigged, and we can't let that happen. This election has to be turned around because we won Pennsylvania by a lot and we won all these swing states by a lot," he said. Immediately after the meeting, Trump invited some of the Pennsylvania lawmakers, including Mastriano, to meet with him in the West Wing of the White House on the same day. The Republican leadership in the Pennsylvania legislature did not attend Trump's White House meeting and all those who did participate initially refused to discuss what happened at the meeting.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On November 27, Mastriano and three other state senators announced that they would introduce a resolution to permit the state legislature to appoint delegates to the Electoral College instead of following the results of the presidential vote in the state. The proposed resolution, as circulated in a memorandum seeking additional co-sponsorships, alleges that "officials in the Executive and Judicial Branches of the Commonwealth infringed upon the General Assembly's authority by unlawfully changing the rules governing the November 3, 2020 election in the Commonwealth", and declares, "based on the facts and evidence presented and our own Board of Elections data, that the Presidential election held on November 3, 2020, in Pennsylvania is irredeemably corrupted".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In the wake of the events, the editorial board of the "York Dispatch", the local newspaper for much of his state senate district, wrote an editorial on December 2 that strongly criticized Mastriano's actions relating to the election. The editorial described him as someone who "regularly spouts his love of freedom" but has a relationship to Trump that had been "exposed as nothing more than a vassal doing his master's bidding", and said his actions were that of a "craven oligarch" making a "shocking call for tyranny" in a "campaign to undercut democracy itself for a generation".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: "The Philadelphia Inquirer" reported on December 5, 2020, that Mastriano's involvement with Trump in disputing the election results had raised his profile, and that he might become a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2022 election. "The Beaver County Times" echoed this view on December 9, saying Mastriano had "shot to the top of the list for the GOP", and quoting local Democratic strategist Mike Mikus as saying Mastriano seemed to be "aggressively angling" to position himself as a potential candidate.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano published an op-ed article in the "York Daily Record" on December 11, accusing Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Secretary Boockvar, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania of taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to abuse and contravene Pennsylvania Act 77, an act passed on October 29, 2019, that modified the election laws in Pennsylvania. He said they "have been making up rules on the fly and unconstitutionally rewrote the law, which compromised our election". Mastriano said he had joined two lawsuits seeking to overturn the election results ("Texas v. Pennsylvania", which the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed on the same day for lack of standing, and "Kelly v. Pennsylvania", a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, which the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected three days prior to Mastriano's article).


title: Doug Mastriano

text: It was reported on November 29 that Mastriano, who had participated in the meeting with Trump, had left the meeting abruptly upon learning that he had tested positive for COVID-19 infection. In addition to Mastriano himself, Mastriano's son and a friend of his son, who also attended the White House meeting, tested positive as well. All participants of the meeting had been administered a rapid test for the virus as part of the White House health protocol, but the results of the test were not provided to them until they were already in the meeting in the West Wing. It was also reported that Mastriano had not worn a mask during the Gettysburg public meeting that day, which had lasted more than four hours, and all but a few of the other participants had also not been wearing masks at the meeting. Some of the participants had ridden in a large van from the Gettysburg meeting to the White House meeting, while Mastriano, his son and his son's friend had driven together in a separate car. Another Pennsylvania state senator, Judy Ward, who sat next to Mastriano during the public meeting he had organized, tested positive for COVID-19 within five days after the meeting. After acknowledging that he had tested positive for the virus on his Facebook page on November 30, Mastriano said that his case was "pretty mild", and he appeared that day on "The Eric Metaxas Show", with Donald Trump on the phone, supporting Trump's claim that he had won the election. When asked about his infection by conservative radio commentator Glenn Beck the next day, Mastriano replied, "I'm feeling fantastic."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Interim Pennsylvania Senate President Jake Corman said that "mistakes were made" in the conduct of the Pennsylvania public meeting, as the organizers of the meeting had allowed a large crowd to attend without following guidelines for social distancing and mask-wearing. The meeting participants were also not screened for symptoms of infection. Corman said "There is no penalty, but you have to review what happened, acknowledge that there were mistakes, and make sure there are policies in place so that it doesn't happen again." Pennsylvania political leaders had been warned by federal officials a few days before the meeting that the state had entered the "red zone" for its percentage of positive virus test results, indicating uncontrolled spreading of COVID-19 in the community, and they had been previously warned that the state was also in the "red zone" for the number of confirmed cases per capita in the state population.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: After participating in the event organized by Mastriano and several other events elsewhere disputing the validity of the election without wearing a mask, Giuliani tested positive for COVID-19 infection 10 or 11 days after the Pennsylvania meeting.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano helped organize bus rides for Trump supporters to the protest that preceded the 2021 United States Capitol attack in Washington, D.C.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: During the protest, Mastriano said he and his wife left the rally area when it turned violent, which he called "unacceptable". Democratic colleagues called for his resignation, saying senators must be held to a higher standard than others. On the morning of January 13, Mastriano wrote on Twitter and Facebook, "Please do not participate in rallies or protests over the next ten days," and "Let's focus on praying for our nation during these troubling times."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In May 2021, crowdsourced video analysis identified Mastriano and his wife watching as another rioter tore a police barricade away and then passing through a breached Capitol Police barricade, contradicting his previous claims that he had not been among the rioters. Mastriano said he was following police directions and dismissed the accusations as the work of "angry partisans" who were "foot soldiers of the ruling elite". This claim is not supported by the video evidence. Mastriano said he was in the "second row, watching the Trump rally", hoping Congress would legally stop the election's certification. "Once I realized all the speaking events were off we left and that's a darn shame... I was there to cheer on Congress, the House and the Senate, not to disrupt it," Mastriano said. No negative consequences were expected as a result of the released videos, according to multiple university political science leaders.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: According to CNN, after images of Mastriano outside the capitol emerged in the summer of 2021, Mastriano fully cooperated when questioned by the FBI. , Mastriano has not been charged with any crimes related to the capitol breach by the DOJ.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In June 2021, after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and without invitation, Mastriano traveled to Arizona along with fellow state senator Cris Dush and state house member Rob Kauffman to observe the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit, which the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors called a "spectacle". The audit was ordered by the state's Republican senate majority, the rationale for which was generated by widely discredited conspiracy theories. Mastriano expressed the desire that the 2020 Pennsylvania ballots be subjected to a process similar to that employed in Maricopa County, Arizona, even though Pennsylvania had already recounted the votes twice and twice confirmed Joe Biden's win and Donald Trump's loss.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: The United States Department of Justice warned the audit participants that they may have broken the law in compromising the integrity of those Arizona ballots. One firm involved had previously audited the 2020 election in Pennsylvania. Wake TSI, the business contracted to do the audit in Fulton County, Pennsylvania by a nonprofit group was directed by discredited Trump attorney and conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell, though she and they never found evidence of fraud. Further, Wake reported the Fulton County's count was "well run" and "conducted in a diligent and effective manner", but its conclusions were subsequently altered before being finalized by the county.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On February 15, 2022, Mastriano was subpoenaed by the Congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, reportedly to inquire about his role in trying to impanel a slate of alternative electors in Pennsylvania, in an effort to overturn the 2020 Presidential election. He submitted pertinent documents to the committee on May 30, 2022, and agreed to be interviewed. His submissions included receipts for $3,354 for the buses he rented to take his supporters to the January rally that segued into a violent insurrection. He further provided the names of attendees. He sold more than 130 tickets for those buses. Mastriano has compared the actions of the committee as similar to the Nazi Party's crackdown on civil liberties following the Reichstag fire, and making "McCarthy in the '50s look like an amateur." On August 9, 2022, Mastriano was scheduled to testify before the committee in a virtual deposition. But he answered no questions and ended the session after only fifteen minutes, after several disputes were brought up by his lawyer, including Mastriano's request that he be allowed to record his deposition, something the committee denied. The following month Mastriano sued the committee arguing that they did not follow proper procedure and did not have the power to conduct depositions.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano had long been rumored to be considering a bid for Governor of Pennsylvania, particularly following his high-profile role in trying to change the results of the 2020 Presidential election. In October 2021, Mastriano said he was considering a run for Governor, but was putting out a fleece, and waiting for a sign from God before he could officially announce. He has said that God and former President Donald Trump wanted him to run for governor. On January 8, 2022, Mastriano announced his candidacy as a Republican candidate for governor. Mastriano emerged as an early frontrunner in the race, alongside former Congressman Lou Barletta.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: While campaigning Mastriano often uses religious rhetoric. According to "The Philadelphia Inquirer", "Mastriano often invokes Esther, the biblical Jewish queen who saved her people from slaughter by Persians, casting himself and his followers as God's chosen people who have arrived at a crossroads – and who must now defend their country, their very lives." "Inquirer" reporter Andrew Seidman described his rallies as a "megachurch event". Even Mastriano's campaign motto "Walk as Free People" is a reference the Bible verse John 8:36.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In April, Mastriano spoke at and raised money for his campaign at a far-right Christian conference called "Patriots Arise for God and Country" in Gettysburg. The conference promoted conspiracy theories claiming that there is a global cabal of Democrats sex trafficking children, 9/11 was a false flag attack, vaccines amount to genocide therapy and Adolf Hitler faked his death. Jewish organizations criticized Mastriano following the rally due to the improper use of Jewish symbols as "campaign props" to open the event.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano's campaign had largely avoided talking to media outlets and journalists, instead choosing to directly reach supporters via Facebook and speaking to a few conservative outlets. Reporters from several outlets had been refused entry to his rallies, including reporters from "The Philadelphia Inquirer", NBC News, and CNN. A "Philadelphia Inquirer" reporter said that there were printed-out photographs of him and other journalists at the check-in desk at a


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano rally in Lancaster County. Mastriano's campaign also attempted to have two CNN journalists removed from a hotel where they had video equipment set up on a balcony overlooking a rally in Uniontown. The journalists had previously been prevented from being admitted to the rally; they were allowed by the hotel to stay.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On November 8, 2022, Mastriano lost the general election to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee by about 14 percentage points. Mastriano conceded defeat to Shapiro five days after the election while also calling for reforms to Pennsylvania's electoral system. Former GOP senator from Pennsylvania Pat Toomey claimed that Mastriano is to blame for his loss and those of the Republican senate and congressional candidates.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: At a rally on May 7, 2022, Mastriano suggested that his gubernatorial administration would be so conservative that it would make Florida Governor Ron DeSantis look like an "[a]mateur". His platform for governor included expanding gun rights, lowering taxes, and supporting charter schools.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano is opposed to abortion. He has expressed support for a ban on abortion from conception, saying "I'm at conception. We're going to have to work our way towards that." He opposes exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. Mastriano has sponsored heartbeat bills, which ban abortions after 6 to 10 weeks. In 2019, Mastriano said women who violated his proposed 10-week abortion ban should be charged with murder. Mastriano has referred to the practice as a "barbaric holocaust" and said that the slogan "my body, my choice" is "ridiculous nonsense." Mastriano has called the Supreme Court's decision in "Roe v. Wade", "worse than the Holocaust."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Shapiro has argued that Mastriano's anti-abortion views will cost Pennsylvania business and jobs as some Pennsylvania-based corporations, such as Duolingo, have said they will leave the state if an abortion ban is passed.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: An Associated Press article discussing Mastriano's combination of religion and politics said that Mastriano "leads rise in Christian nationalism among GOP candidates" and the article asserted that "watchers of Christian nationalism" considered Mastriano's primary win to be "by far the highest-profile victory for the movement". Republican strategist Mike Madrid told Politico Mastriano's Christian nationalism "is a movement...The [separation] between evangelical Christianity, white identity and American nationalism is basically gone. They're merging into the same thing." Despite being commonly described as a Christian nationalist, Mastriano has rejected this label.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Although no evidence of "compromised" voting machines has been found and although pending defamation lawsuits have been brought by both Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic Corp against certain defendants who claimed otherwise, Mastriano has said that if he is elected, within his first 100 days he would "immediately end all contracts with compromised voting machine companies". Mastriano seeks to restrict voting. He would repeal Pennsylvania's no-excuse mail voting law, which he previously voted for. As Governor, Mastriano would have the power to appoint Pennsylvania's Secretary of State, who oversees elections in the state. In April 2022, Mastriano said that his Secretary of State would "reset" voter rolls so that Pennsylvanians would have to re-register to vote. He reiterated his intent to do so days after the primary election held on May 17, 2022. According to legal scholars consulted by the Associated Press, such an action would be a clear violation of federal law and may also violate state law and constitutional protections as well. At a 2022 campaign event, Mastriano suggested that he might only certify Pennsylvania's election results if the Republican candidate for president wins.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano supports pulling Pennsylvania out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. Dismissing the extensively documented scientific consensus that humans are dangerously interfering with the climate system, Mastriano justified his opposition to the initiative by claiming climate change is "just a theory" based on "pop science" while "the weatherman can't get the weather right 24 hours out." In a 2018 radio interview, Mastriano said that climate science is a "fake science. And it’s a racket at the academic level."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On the issue of education, Mastriano has called for cuts to funding of public education and proposed reducing per-student school funding from $19,000 to about $9,000. The Pennsylvania State Education Association analyzed Mastriano's education plan and determined it would "amount to a school funding cut of $12.75 billion and could likely lead to the loss of more than 118,000 jobs in public schools in Pennsylvania..." He supports school vouchers that could be used at any school including charter and religious schools.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: During an October 2022 rally, Mastriano said, if elected Governor, that "the sexualization of our kids, pole dancing, and all this other crap that's going on will be forbidden in our schools."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano supports removing undocumented immigrants living in Pennsylvania. He has said he supports busing them to Wilmington, Delaware, the hometown of President Joe Biden.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano has said that same-sex marriage should be illegal, and that same-sex parents should not be allowed to adopt children. On Mastriano's campaign page for the Pennsylvania Senate, he says that "marriage is between a man and woman and that no amount of disinformation or political correctness will change these facts".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano opposes efforts to ban or discourage conversion therapy, a pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation. He has called efforts to discourage the practice as "disgusting" saying the practice can be used to cure children who are "confused."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: He supports legislation to ban gender transition surgeries for transgender children. He has described the procedures as "experimental medical procedures" that distort "the concept of gender so that it defies the bounds of science and logic." In October 2022, Mastriano accused the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia of "grabbing homeless kids and kids in foster care, apparently, and experimenting on them with gender transitioning..."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In the closing days of the primary election, Mastriano led in most polls, much to the dismay of the Pennsylvania Republican establishment, who believed Mastriano would lose the general election to the presumptive Democratic nominee, Attorney General Josh Shapiro. A number of candidates including President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate Jake Corman and former Congresswoman Melissa Hart dropped out and endorsed Lou Barletta, in a bid to stop Mastriano. Three days before the election former President Donald Trump endorsed Mastriano. Mastriano won the Republican primary election with 44% of the vote.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: During the lead-up to the primary, Shapiro's campaign released a televised advertisement stating that a Mastriano win is "a win for what Donald Trump stands for." The ad was labeled as promoting Mastriano, a candidate Democrats saw as being easier to defeat in the general election.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: An investigation by "Media Matters for America" found that Mastriano paid Gab, $5,000 on April 28, 2022, for "campaign consulting". As a result of the payments, every new account on Gab automatically followed Mastriano's account. Gab has been described as a social media haven for white supremacists and neo-Nazis and was used by the perpetrator of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Gab co-founder and CEO Andrew Torba has a history of antisemitic comments and associations with white supremacists. Torba said, "This is the most important election of the 2022 midterms because Doug is an outspoken Christian. We are going to build a coalition of Christian nationalists, of Christians, of Christian candidates, at the state, local and federal levels and we're going to take this country back for the glory of God." Torba added, "My policy is not to conduct interviews with reporters who aren't Christian or with outlets who aren't Christian and Doug has a very similar media strategy where he does not do interviews with these people. He does not talk to these people. He does not give press access to these people." After his ties to Gab were revealed, Mastriano distanced himself from the social platform following criticism and said he rejects antisemitism. His Gab account was also removed on July 28. Mastriano has said that he is not antisemitic because his campaign has had Jewish symbols, including the tallit and shofar, at one of their rallies. Some Jewish organizations, however, have criticized Mastriano for the use of Jewish symbols at his campaign events. The man at the rally, who presented the Jewish symbols, was identified as "Pastor Don" and is a messianic Jew.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano faced Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the November 8, 2022 general election, and lost. "The New York Times" described Mastriano's general election efforts as a "ragtag campaign" that had "no television ads on the air [after] May, [chose] not to interact with the state's news media in ways that would push his agenda, and trail[ed] by double digits in reputable public polling..." Matt Brouillette, a Pennsylvania Republican strategist, said of Mastriano's campaign, "I've not seen anything that is even a semblance of a campaign."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In July 2022, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish civil rights organization, condemned Mastriano's "politics that teeter on the edge of a kind of extremism." In August, Mastriano was placed on their list of "right-wing extremists" seeking elected office and once again condemned by the ADL after spreading debunked, antisemitic, conspiracy theories that George Soros, a liberal businessman, was a Nazi.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In August 2022, Mastriano condemned the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, the residence of former President Trump, as "an outrageous weaponization of America's tools of justice against political opponents of the current regime in Washington, DC." He urged his supporters "to exercise their votes and throw the bums out – Democrats in Washington and Harrisburg."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano faced accusations of antisemitism in September 2022 following comments he made regarding Shapiro, who is Jewish. Mastriano said that Shapiro cannot relate to voters because he grew up "in a privileged neighborhood" and attended a "privileged, exclusive, elite school," which therefore means Shapiro has "disdain for people like us." Shapiro's alma mater in question is Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy (then Akiba Hebrew Academy), a Jewish day school. Mastriano also critiqued Shapiro for sending his kids to a Jewish day school. A number of figures, including Jake Tapper, a CNN journalist and fellow alumnus of Shapiro's school, condemned the remarks as antisemitic. Tapper said: "I don't think I have ever heard Mr. Mastriano describe any other Pennsylvania parochial school in that way." A school official said that more than 60% of students receive financial aid. Responding to Tapper, Mastriano said the "irony was listening to Jake Tapper, one of his classmates, defend the elite school they go to. 'I'm not elitist' — it's like Nixon saying 'I'm not a criminal.' Yes, you are elitist." Mastriano has continued to use the line of attack saying "[apparently] now it is some kind of racist thing if I talk about the school..." Mastriano's wife, Rebbie, defended the comments saying "we probably love Israel more than a lot of Jews do", citing years of outreach contributions.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Towards the end of the summer, Shapiro's lead over Mastriano began to grow in the polls and Mastriano's campaign lacked the funding to run many ads on TV. "The Philadelphia Inquirer" reported that Mastriano's "messaging has grown increasingly erratic, sometimes arguably bordering on nonsensical." Forty days prior to the general election, Mastriano called on his supporters to join him for a fast that would last until election day.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In October, in a rare move, two retired U.S. Army War College professors publicly rebuked Mastriano and said he was unfit to serve as Governor.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: One week before the general election, acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman announced the total vote count would take "days". Mastriano falsely claimed this was "an attempt to have the fix in." After the election had been called for Shapiro, Mastriano initially did not concede. Five days after the election was called for Shapiro, Mastriano formally conceded the race without issue.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: During an Independence Day parade, supporters of Mastriano could be seen carrying a flag bearing the emblem of the Three Percenters. The Three Percenters are a far-right anti-government militia that has been labeled as an extremist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: A July 2022 article in "Salon", expanded upon by "Media Matters for America" in August, found that Mastriano has campaigned with and promoted Julie Green, an acknowleged prophet in the New Apostolic Reformation. Green, who says she has "a special relationship" with Mastriano and gave the opening prayer at one of Mastriano's campaign events, has promoted conspiracy theories including that Nancy Pelosi "loves to drink the little children's blood" and that Joe Biden is actually dead and being played by an actor. Green has prophesied that a number of politicians including Liz Cheney, Doug Ducey, Mitch McConnell, Jerry Nadler, Mitt Romney and Chuck Schumer will be executed for treason.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: An August 2022 investigation by "LNP" found that Mastriano's security detail was made up of non-professional, armed guards including the former regional leader of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist militia group. Several other members of the security detail are members of LifeGate, an Elizabethtown-based evangelical church, whose leaders have spoken publicly about their goals to elect Christians to public office to advance biblical principles in government.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: At a September 2022 rally in Chambersburg, a speaker directed the crowd to raise their hands in unison and then to bring their hands down on the count of three. The crowd shouted "as one" as they lowered their hands. The gesture was described as being "eerily similar" to a Nazi salute. The Texas evangelist who directed the unison activity said he is part Jewish and that the salute comparison was "typical leftist lies" about a Republican event.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In October 2022, Mastriano appeared at a campaign rally with conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec. Posobiec has repeatedly used white supremacist and antisemitic talking points, including the Fourteen Words, a reference to a white supremacist slogan.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In November 2022, "The Daily Beast" reported that Mastriano was an administrator for a Facebook group, which features a number of racist and antisemitic posts. The page features posts stating that Michelle Obama is transgender, George Soros is a Jewish puppet master, who controls politicians and that immigrants are "scary brown people."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: At least six people who were in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, during the Capitol attack have donated to Mastriano's campaign. He also received a $500 donation from Andrew Torba, a white supremacist and Christian nationalist.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In late August 2022, Reuters obtained a photograph via a FOIA request showing Mastraino dressed in a Confederate uniform while posing in a 201314 faculty portrait for the Army War College. The photo was taken at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center along the Army Heritage Trail. According to Reuters, the faculty was permitted to dress in historical attire. At least 15 of the 21 people in the picture chose to wear regular attire. One man in the photograph could be seen wearing an aviator's helmet while another wore a trench coat. Mastriano was the only member photographed wearing Confederate attire.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: After the report was published, the photo was removed from the Army War College's collection of portraits "because it does not meet AWC values"; a spokesperson for the Army noted that "the Army supports commanders who remove symbols or images that do not comport with Army values." According to Reuters, "Confederate symbols can be seen as insensitive to those who view them as painful reminders of racial oppression" and "Confederate symbols and dress have been embraced by white supremacists in the United States."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Following the controversy, "Media Matters for America" published a Facebook livestream from Mastriano in 2020 where he praised armed men, who were ostensibly defending a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Gettysburg National Park. In the video, Mastriano says "Friends, thanks for being here. I'm Senator Mastriano... It's good to see you guys... Thanks for being vigilant." In another part of the video, Mastriano says to a man wearing a half-Confederate, half-U.S. flag: "You're looking good there, man. I can't think of a better cape."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano's first book, "Alvin York: A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne" (), was published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2014. Mastriano conducted twelve years of research for the book. His team uncovered thousands of artifacts that Mastriano believed were related to York's battle of October 8, 1918.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano's book received the 2015 William E. Colby Award of the William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium at Norwich University (an award for a first published work of a military topic author), the Army Historical Foundation Award, the US Army War College Madigan Award and the 2015 Crader Family Book Prize in American Values.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Other researchers have questioned the accuracy of the book, including James Gregory, a PhD Candidate at the University of Oklahoma, who has identified 30 citations in the work that he asserts are fraudulent (i.e., not supporting the claims they are cited to support or having obviously doubtful reliability), and a photo on the dust jacket that is labeled by the Army as having been taken twelve days before York's Medal of Honor action but is presented as depicting the action's aftermath. The University Press of Kentucky, which published the book, asked Mastriano in September to respond before November 2021 to about 30 items of concern; his response or the publisher's own recommendations were then to be reviewed by the publisher and a peer reviewer for inclusion in a new printing in 2022.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Several archeologists and historians have raised questions about Mastriano's findings regarding the location of Alvin York's Medal of Honor actions. In an introduction to Michael Kelly's "Hero on the Western Front: Discovering Alvin York's Battlefield", the late Ed Bearss, former chief historian for the National Park Service, says that Kelly "identifies serious problems with [Mastriano's York Group] that compromise the validity of their claims that they had located the York sites."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Brad Posey, who had initially been a member of Mastriano's team, described Mastriano as "A U.S. Army or Air Force officer using a very cheap-looking metal detector with no experience in metal detecting". Posey left Mastriano's team after becoming convinced that Mastriano was incorrect, and joined the competing Nolan group. Lt. Col. Taylor V. Beattie, an Alvin York researcher, was critical of Mastriano's lack of annotation during his research, saying, "This is actually one of the things I warned Mastriano about. Somebody should be able to retrace what he did." Beattie later criticized Mastriano's team for using a bulldozer to make room for a monument, rendering any further archaeological investigation impossible.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano grew up in Mercer County, New Jersey and voted in New Jersey until 2010. In 2012, he moved to Pennsylvania. Mastriano's mother Janice was a member of the East Windsor Regional Board of Education for three terms. She faced calls for her resignation in 2000 after saying in an interview "I wouldn't want a known homosexual camping with my boys, because you know most of them are pedophiles too."


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano and his wife, Rebecca, have one child. Both he and his son Josiah appeared in the 2019 film "Operation Resist", a film "The New Yorker" described as historically revisionist for its presentation of Evangelical Christians as a persecuted minority in Nazi Germany alongside Jews. The film has also been criticized by scholars for its distortions of the Holocaust, and for equating abortion and gun-control with Nazism. Josiah played the role of the Nazi Fritz and Mastriano played the role of American Captain Peter Ortiz.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: He worships at a Mennonite church, likely a Conservative Mennonite Conference church. Mastriano has attended events of the New Apostolic Reformation, a movement advocating the restoration of the offices of so-called "prophets and apostles".


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: The Capture is a British mystery thriller series created, written and directed by Ben Chanan, and starring Holliday Grainger, Callum Turner, Laura Haddock, Ben Miles, Cavan Clerkin, Paul Ritter, and Ron Perlman.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: The series premiered on BBC One on 3 September 2019, and received positive reviews from critics. It was announced in June 2020 that a second series had been commissioned. The second series began airing on BBC One in the UK on 28 August 2022 and it also premiered on Peacock in the US on 3 November 2022.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: In series one, after being acquitted of a war crime in Afghanistan, former British army Lance Corporal Shaun Emery finds himself accused of kidnapping and murdering his barrister Hannah Roberts, backed by CCTV evidence. Whilst Emery works to clear his name, fast-tracked Detective Inspector Rachel Carey of Homicide and Serious Crime Command begins to uncover a complex conspiracy surrounding Emery, calling into question the validity of the footage.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: In series two, rising politician Isaac Turner finds himself caught up in a similar conspiracy after a deepfake of him causes yet another race against time for Rachel to expose the truth before it is too late.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: Production filmed interior scenes at Canterbury Prison, Kent, England doubling as HMP Gladstone, London for episode one. Lead character Shaun Emery (Callum Turner) is released from prison wearing a soldier's uniform. He later is rearrested and returns to the prison.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: The first series was reviewed positively by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 92% with an average rating of 8.1/10, based on reviews from 39 critics. The site's critical consensus said, "Gripping to the very end, "The Capture"'s well-built tension culminates in a riveting revitalization of a tired genre". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, it received a score of 72 out of 100 based on 20 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: "The Telegraph" awarded the episode four stars, labelling the series as "riveting", and "The Independent" also awarded it four stars, designating it an "intriguing, but rather flawed, sort of "Big Brother" thriller set in our contemporary world of digital snooping". In his review in "The Times" James Jackson referred to the drama as a "neatly structured thriller... clearly out to interrogate surveillance culture", also awarding four stars. "The Guardian" was less enthusiastic, concluding it to be a "twisty if lacklustre drama", giving the opening episode only three stars out of five.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: Reviews improved over the course of the series, and the finale was highly praised by critics, with many drawing positive comparisons with the BBC's similar series "Bodyguard" which was broadcast around the same time the previous year. "The Telegraph" described it as a "highly satisfying series finale", whilst "The Times" critic James Jackson referred to the series as 'the thinking man's' "Bodyguard":


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: Sarah Hughes echoed these sentiments in her review of the finale in "The Guardian", commenting that "if there were any justice, everyone would be talking about "The Capture" right now". She heralded the show as "nuanced and complex" and "one of the most cleverly plotted dramas of recent years", and the final episode as "a refreshingly grownup hour of television".


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the second series received an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 12 critics. The site's critical consensus said, "Deftly melding contemporary concerns with outlandish internal logic, "The Capture"'s sophomore season is brainy camp that will detain your attention." On Metacritic, it received an average score of 70 out of 100, based on four critic reviews.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: "The Capture" was the most requested new show in 2019 on BBC iPlayer, with over 20 million requests for series 1. It was also the eighth most requested series overall in 2019.


title: The Capture (TV series)

text: For his performance in the first series, Callum Turner received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: The Belgian Constitution guarantees, since the country's independence, freedom of language in the private sphere. Article 30 specifies that "the use of languages spoken in Belgium is optional; only the law can rule on this matter, and only for acts of the public authorities and for legal matters." For those public authorities, there is extensive language legislation concerning Dutch, French and German, even though the Belgian Constitution does not explicitly mention which languages enjoy official status. Article 4 divides the country into linguistic areas, which form the basis of the federal structure: "Belgium has four linguistic areas: The French-speaking area, the Dutch-speaking area, the bilingual area of Brussels Capital, and the German-speaking area."


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Before the federal structure and the language legislation were gradually introduced in the later 20th century, French was generally the only language used by public authorities. For example, the Dutch version of the Constitution has enjoyed equal status to the original French one only since 1967, and the German version since 1991.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Of the inhabitants of Belgium, roughly 59% belong to the Flemish Community, 40% to the French Community, and 1% to the German-speaking Community. These figures relating to official Belgian languages include unknown numbers of immigrants and their children, who may speak a foreign language as primary language, and of Belgian regional migrants, who likely largely balance one another for native French and Dutch speakers. A large French-speaking population lives around Brussels, in Flanders, and by geography are considered part of the Flemish Community. Though the standard form of Dutch used in Belgium is almost identical to that spoken in the Netherlands, and the different dialects across the border, it is often colloquially called "Flemish".


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Dutch is the most spoken primary language of Belgium and the official language of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region (merged to Flanders). Along with French, it is an official language of the Brussels-Capital Region. The main Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium are Brabantian, West Flemish, East Flemish, and Limburgish. All these are spoken across the border in the Netherlands as well, and West Flemish is also spoken in French Flanders. Much like English, Flemish dialects have adopted more French and other Romance vocabulary through mutual cultural exchange throughout history when compared with other Dutch dialects. As such, they are not always readily intelligible for Dutch speakers outside Flanders. Nevertheless linguists regard these as varieties of Dutch. Words which are unique to Belgian Dutch are called "belgicisms" (as are words used primarily in Belgian French). The original Brabantian dialect of Brussels has been very much influenced by French. It is now spoken by a minority in the Capital region, since the primary language of most inhabitants shifted during the Frenchification of Brussels.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: The second-most spoken primary (Belgian) language, used natively by approximately one third of the population, is French. It is the official language of the French Community (which, like the Flemish Community, is a political entity), the dominant language in Wallonia (having also a small German-speaking Community), as well as the Brussels-Capital Region. Almost all of the inhabitants of the Capital region speak French as either their primary language (50%) or as a lingua franca (45%). Many Flemish people also speak French as a second language. Belgian French is in most respects identical to standard, Parisian French, but differs in some points of vocabulary, pronunciation, and semantics.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: German is the least prevalent official language in Belgium, spoken natively by less than 1% of the population. The German-speaking Community of Belgium numbers 77,000, residing in an area of Belgium that was ceded by the former German Empire as part of the Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I. In 1940, Nazi Germany re-annexed the region following its invasion of Belgium during World War II; after the war it was returned to Belgium.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: In national politics, politicians can freely choose to speak in any of the three official languages. In turn, the Belgian parliament provides simultaneous interpretation for those who require it to assist in communication.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Education is provided by the Communities, Dutch in the Flemish Community (Flanders and Brussels), French in the French Community (Wallonia and Brussels), German in the German-speaking community. Instruction in other languages is prohibited in government-funded schools except for foreign language subjects. However, the English language has become increasingly used in higher education.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Also all official correspondence and communication with the government (e.g. tax papers, local politics, ID/passport requests, building permits etc.) must be in the official language of the region or community. Inhabitants of a few municipalities are granted an exception to these rules.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: In 2006, the Université catholique de Louvain, the country's largest French-speaking university, published a report with the introduction (translated):


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Within the report, professors in economics Ginsburgh and Weber further show that of Brussels' residents, 95% declared they can speak French, 59% Dutch, and 41% know the non-local English. Of those under the age of forty, 59% in Flanders declared that they could speak all three, along with 10% in Wallonia and 28% in Brussels. In each region, Belgium's third official language, German, is notably less known than those.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: In addition to the three official languages, others are spoken in Belgium, for instance in Wallonia, where French became dominant only relatively recently. Sometimes seen as dialects, the varieties related to French have been recognized by the French Community as separate languages ("", ‘regional native languages’) since 1990. But there have been no significant measures to support usage of those varieties.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Walloon is the historical language of southern Belgium, and most of the areas where French is now spoken were Walloon-speaking. It is also the traditional national language of the Walloons. Though it has been recognized since 1990, like other vernaculars in Belgium, it is spoken mainly by older people. Some younger Walloons may claim some knowledge. It is used mainly in rural regions, which have a slower rate of change. It is also used in theatre productions and other forms of literature, though not in schools.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Another language related to French, and also a historic language of the region, Picard was recognized in 1990 by the government of the French Community. Picard has been historically based in France, with speakers also in the western part of Wallonia.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Champenois was also legally recognized in 1990. It is mainly spoken in Champagne, France, and a small part of Wallonia.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Like the other indigenous languages closely related to French, Lorrain was recognized in 1990. It is mainly spoken in Gaume, a part of Belgian Lorraine.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Flanders too has a number of dialects, but linguists regard these as varieties of Dutch rather than a separate Flemish language, with the exception of Limburgish and West Flemish. The main Dutch dialects in Belgium are Brabantian and East Flemish. Standard Dutch, as spoken in Belgium, is mostly influenced by Brabantian. There are literary traditions in both the East Flemish and West Flemish dialects.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Limburgish is a language spoken mainly in north-eastern Belgium and the south-eastern Netherlands, in the Belgian and Dutch provinces of Limburg. It is closely related to Dutch but has more German influences.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Low Dietsch is a Germanic language or dialect in the north-east of the Belgian province of Liege, in the kernel area of the historical (and linguistically mixed) Duchy of Limburg. It is spoken in towns and villages such as Plombières "(Bleiberg)", Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen and Welkenraedt. Linguists classify this dialect as a transition between Limburgish and Ripuarian. It has been defined as either varieties of Dutch or of German.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Since 1992 Low Dietsch has been acknowledged as an internal regional language by the Walloon authority. Low Dietsch was the favorite foreign language in the 19th century of American President Andrew Jackson for its sound and eloquence. Low Dietsch is practically identical to the German dialect in the northern part of the neighbouring official German-speaking region of Belgium. The different definition is due to the fact that the German-speaking region was annexed by Belgium in 1919, whereas the "Low Dietsch" area has been part of Belgium since 1830.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Luxembourgish, a Moselle Franconian language, is native to Arelerland, the eastern part of the Belgian province of Luxembourg, including the city of Arlon "(Arel)". Since the late 20th century, it has largely been replaced by Belgian French in recent decades, in contrast to its flourishing on the other side of the border, in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Since 1990 this language has been recognised by the Walloon authorities as "" (Franconian). It was the only non-Romance language recognized in the 1990 decree.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Marols, also known as Brusseleir, is a nearly extinct dialect spoken in Brussels, and used primarily in informal contexts. It is mostly a mixture of French and Dutch influences. Marols originated from the Brabantian dialect and gained greater French influences after the Kingdom of Belgium was established in 1830 following the Belgian Revolution. The dialect was named after the Marollen, a neighborhood in Brussels.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Yiddish is spoken by many among the 18,000 Jews living in Antwerp, where there is a considerable number of orthodox Jews who "maintain a largely traditional Jewish way of life...[in which] Yiddish is widely spoken even outside the homes and also by Jews who were born in Belgium."


title: Languages of Belgium

text: LSFB, or French Belgian Sign Language, is used primarily in Wallonia and Brussels and is related to LSF and other Francosign languages. It developed from Old Belgian Sign Language, which developed as a result of contact between Lyons Sign Language and LSF.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Like LSFB, Flemish Sign Language, or VGT, is a Francosign language descended from Old Belgian Sign Language. It is used primarily in Flanders, with five major regional dialects: West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, and Limburg. There is dialectal variation between men and women speakers due to historical developments of the language.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Unlike VGT and LSFB, DGS, or German Sign Language, is unrelated to LSF and comprises its own language family. DGS is related to PJM and Shassi. It is used primarily around the German-speaking communities of Belgium, although German and DGS are unrelated.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Sinte Romani is spoken by many among the 10,000 Romani or Sinti living in Belgium. It has significant German influence and is not mutually intelligible with other Romani languages. The language belongs to the Northwestern Romani dialect group. The language and people are often called "Gypsies" by outsiders, a term considered to be pejorative due to its connotations of illegality and irregularity.


title: Languages of Belgium

text: Since the late 20th century, Belgium has received immigrants from different areas of Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. They and their descendants speak languages including Berber (Riffian), Arabic (Maghrebi), Spanish, Turkish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Polish, and English.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and facing the French town of Évian-les-Bains across the lake. Lausanne is located northeast of Geneva, the nearest major city.


title: Lausanne

text: The municipality of Lausanne has a population of about 140,000, making it the fourth largest city in Switzerland after Basel, Geneva, and Zurich, with the entire agglomeration area having about 420,000 inhabitants (as of January 2019). The metropolitan area of Lausanne-Geneva (including Vevey-Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains, Valais and foreign parts), commonly designated as "Arc lémanique" was over 1.3 million inhabitants in 2017 and is the fastest growing in Switzerland.


title: Lausanne

text: Initially a Celtic and Roman settlement on the shores of the lake, Lausanne became a town at the foot of Notre Dame, a cathedral built in the 12th century. In the 20th century, Lausanne became a focus of international sport, hosting the International Olympic Committee (which has recognized the city as the "Olympic Capital" since 1994), the Court of Arbitration for Sport and some 55 international sport associations. It lies in a noted wine-growing region. The city has a 28-station metro system, making it the smallest city in the world to have a rapid transit system. Lausanne hosted the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.


title: Lausanne

text: The Romans built a military camp, which they called , at the site of a Celtic settlement, near the lake where Vidy and Ouchy are situated; on the hill above was a fort called or (The "-y" suffix is common to many place names of Roman origin in the region (e.g.) Prilly, Pully, Lutry, etc.). By the 2nd century AD, it was known as and in 280 as . By 400, it was , and in 990 it was mentioned as .


title: Lausanne

text: After the fall of the Roman Empire, insecurity forced the residents of Lausanne to move to its current centre, a hilly site that was easier to defend. The city which emerged from the camp was ruled by the Counts of Savoy and the Bishop of Lausanne.


title: Lausanne

text: From 888 to 1032, the initially relatively small town belonged to the kingdom of Upper Burgundy. During the 11th century, Lausanne developed into a political, economic and religious center. The city became the center of the secular rule of the bishops. In the period that followed, especially in the 12th and 13th centuries, Lausanne flourished. Finally, in 1275, the Lausanne Cathedral was consecrated in the presence of Pope Gregory X and King Rudolf I of Germany.


title: Lausanne

text: It was invaded by forces from the canton of Bern and remained under their domination from 1536 to 1798. The iconoclastic Bernese stripped the Lausanne cathedral of its Roman Catholic trappings, and a number of its cultural treasures, including the hanging tapestries in the cathedral, were permanently removed. Lausanne has made repeated requests to recover them, but they never were returned.


title: Lausanne

text: After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Lausanne became (along with Geneva) a place of refuge for French Huguenots. In 1729, a seminary was opened by Antoine Court and Benjamin Duplan. By 1750, 90 pastors had been sent back to France to work clandestinely; this number would rise to 400. Official persecution ended in 1787; a faculty of Protestant theology was established at Montauban in 1808, and the Lausanne seminary was finally closed on 18 April 1812. During the Napoleonic Wars, the city's status changed. In 1803, it became the capital of a newly formed Swiss canton, Vaud, under which it joined the Swiss Federation.


title: Lausanne

text: In 1923, the city was the venue for the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, which established the modern Turkish Republic. In 1964, the city played host to the Swiss National Exhibition, displaying its newly found confidence to play host to major international events.


title: Lausanne

text: From the 1950s to 1970s, a large number of Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese immigrated to Lausanne, settling mostly in the industrial suburb of Renens.


title: Lausanne

text: The city has served as a refuge for European artists. While under the care of a psychiatrist at Lausanne, T. S. Eliot composed most of his 1922 poem "The Waste Land" ("by the waters of Leman I sat down and wept"). Ernest Hemingway also visited from Paris with his wife during the 1920s, to holiday. In fact, many creative people – such as historian Edward Gibbon and Romantic era poets Shelley and Byron — have sojourned, lived, and worked in Lausanne or nearby.


title: Lausanne

text: The city has been traditionally quiet, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of demonstrations took place that exposed tensions between young people and the police. In the early 1980s, the Lôzane Bouge protests demanded the city "open an autonomous centre, lower cinema ticket prices, liberalise cannabis and end the process of keeping records on homosexuals, all accompanied by leaflets, chants, and songs in the street". Protests occurred in 2003, against the G8 meetings.


title: Lausanne

text: In June of 2022, Lausanne launched Plateforme 10, an art district comprising three museums. The trio of museums included Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts (MCBA), Photo Elysée, and the Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts (MUDAC).


title: Lausanne

text: The most important geographical feature of the area surrounding Lausanne is Lake Geneva ("Lac Léman" in French). Lausanne is built on the southern slope of the Swiss plateau, with a difference in elevation of about between the lakeshore at Ouchy and its northern edge bordering Le Mont-sur-Lausanne and Épalinges. Lausanne boasts a dramatic panorama over the lake and the Swiss and Savoyan Alps.


title: Lausanne

text: In addition to its generally southward-sloping layout, the centre of the city is the site of an ancient river, the Flon, which has been covered since the 19th century. The former river forms a gorge running through the middle of the city south of the old city centre, generally following the course of the present "Rue Centrale", with several bridges crossing the depression to connect the adjacent neighbourhoods. Due to the considerable differences in elevation, tourists should make a note as to which plane of elevation they are on and where they want to go, otherwise they will find themselves tens of metres below or above the street in which they are trying to go. The name "Flon" is also used for the metro station located in the gorge.


title: Lausanne

text: The municipality includes the villages of Vidy, Cour, Ouchy, Mornex, Chailly, La Sallaz, Vennes, Montblesson, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, Montheron and Chalet-à-Gobet () as well as the exclave of Vernand.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne is located at the limit between the extensive wine-growing regions of Lavaux (to the east) and la Côte (to the west).


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne has an area, , of (depending on calculation method). Of this area, or 15.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 38.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 45.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.0% is unproductive land.


title: Lausanne

text: Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 1.6% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 22.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 12.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.6% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 7.4%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 9.4% is used for growing crops and 4.9% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in lakes and streams.


title: Lausanne

text: The municipality was part of the old Lausanne District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and it became the capital of the new district of Lausanne.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne has an average of 119.7 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is May during which time Lausanne receives an average of of rain. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.1 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 8.8 days.


title: Lausanne

text: The USDA Hardiness Zone for Lausanne-Pully is 8b with an average minimum temperature of −7.0 C over the past 20 years (1997–2016).


title: Lausanne

text: The city is divided into 18 "quartiers", or districts, sometimes composed of several neighborhoods. They are: Centre (1), Maupas/Valency (2), Sébeillon/Malley (3), Montoie/Bourdonnette (4), Montriond/Cour (5), Sous-Gare/Ouchy (6), Montchoisi (7), Florimont/Chissiez (8), Mousquines/Bellevue (9), Vallon/Béthusy (10), Chailly/Rovéréaz (11), Sallaz/Vennes/Séchaud (12), Sauvabelin (13), Borde/Bellevaux (14), Vinet/Pontaise (15), Bossons/Blécherette (16), Beaulieu/Grey/Boisy (17), and Les Zones foraines (90).


title: Lausanne

text: The municipality ("la Municipalité") constitutes the executive government of the City of Lausanne and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of seven councilors (), each presiding over a directorate. One of the members act as mayor ("syndic"). In the mandate period 2021–2026 ("la législature") the Municipality is presided by le Syndic Grégoire Junod. Directoral tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Communal Council are carried by the Municipality. The regular election of the Municipality by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every five years. Any resident of Lausanne allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipality. Since 14 April 2003, due to the constitution by canton of Vaud not only Swiss citizen have the right to vote and elect and being elected on communal level, but also foreigners with a residence permit of at least 10 years in Switzerland and 3 years in the canton of Vaud. The current mandate period is from 1 Jue 2021 to 30 May 2026. The delegates are elected by means of a system of Majorz. The mayor is later on elected as such by a public election as well by a system of Majorz, while the heads of the other departments are assigned by the collegiate. The executive body holds its meetings in the Town Hall ("L'Hôtel de Ville"), in the old city on "Place de la Palud".


title: Lausanne

text: , Lausanne's Municipality is made up of three representatives of the PS (Social Democratic Party, of whom one is also the mayor), and two members of PES (Green Party), and one each of le Parti Ouvrier et Populaire Vaudois (POP), and PLR (Les Libéraux-Radicaux (PLR)), giving the left parties a very strong six out of seven seats. The last regular election was held on 7 and 28 March 2021.


title: Lausanne

text: Simon Affolter is Town Chancellor (chancelier municipal) since and Patrizia Marzullo Darbellay is Deputy Town Chancellor since for the Municipality.


title: Lausanne

text: The Communal Council ("Conseil communal") holds legislative power. It is made up of 100 members, with elections held every five years. The Communal Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the Municipality and the administration. The sessions of the Communal Council are public. Unlike members of the Municipality, members of the Communal Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Lausanne allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Communal Council. Since 14 April 2003, due to the constitution by canton of Vaud not only Swiss citizen have the right to vote and elect and being elected on communal level, but also foreigners with a residence permit of at least 10 years in Switzerland and 3 years in the canton of Vaud. The Parliament holds its meetings in the Town Hall ("Hôtel de Ville"), in the old city on "Place de la Palud".


title: Lausanne

text: The last election of the Communal Council was held on 7 March 2021 for the mandate period ("la législature") from 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2026. As of this election the Communal Council consist of 29 (-4) members of the Social Democratic Party (PS), 24 (+7) Green Party (PES), 21 (0) Les Libéraux-Radicaux (PLR), 13 (+2) "Ensemble à Gauche" (an alliance of the left parties POP ("Parti Suisse du Travail – Parti Ouvrier et Populaire") and solidaritéS and "indépendant.e.s"), 7 (-5) Swiss People's Party (UDC), and 6 (0) members of the Green Liberal Party (pvl)).


title: Lausanne

text: In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the Green Party which received 27.3% (+11.4) of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the PS (26.7%, -4.2), PLR (15.1%, -3.6), the UDC (9.3%, -6), the POP/solidaritéS (9%, +1.9), the pvl (6.9%, +3.4). In the federal election a total of 26,070 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 39.7%.


title: Lausanne

text: In the 2015 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 30.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the PLR (18.7%), the Green Party (15.9%), and the UDC (15.4%). In the federal election, a total of 26,116 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 41.0%.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne has a population () of . , 42% of the population were resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009) the population has changed at a rate of 9.9%. It has changed at a rate of 8.3% due to migration and at a rate of 2.6% due to births and deaths. The population of the greater Lausanne area ("grand Lausanne") is 402,900 (as of December 2014).


title: Lausanne

text: Of the population in the municipality, 58% or 80,828 have a Swiss citizenship, while 16,908 or 12.1% are from Lausanne and still lived there in December 2013. There were 27,653 or 19.8% who are from somewhere else in the same canton, while 36,276 or 26.0% have a Swiss citizenship in another canton. 58,9562 or 42.0% have a foreign citizenship.


title: Lausanne

text: In 2000, most of the population spoke French (98,424 or 78.8%), with German being second most common (5,365 or 4.3%) and Italian being third (4,976 or 4.0%). There were 62 people who speak Romansh.


title: Lausanne

text: In there were 840 live births to Swiss citizens and 623 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 862 deaths of Swiss citizens and 127 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 22 while the foreign population increased by 496. There were 9 Swiss men and 57 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 2230 non-Swiss men and 1802 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 883 and the non-Swiss population increased by 2221 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.6%.


title: Lausanne

text: The age distribution, , in Lausanne is; 11,818 children or 9.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 12,128 or 9.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 21,101 people or 16.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 22,158 people or 17.6% are between 30 and 39, 18,016 people or 14.4% are between 40 and 49, and 13,940 people or 11.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 11,041 people or 8.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 8,277 people or 6.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 5,896 people or 4.7% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 1,171 people or 0.9% who are 90 and older.


title: Lausanne

text: , there were 58,100 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 48,990 married individuals, 7,797 widows or widowers and 10,027 individuals who are divorced.


title: Lausanne

text: , there were 62,258 private households in the municipality, and an average of 1.9 persons per household. There were 31,205 households that consist of only one person and 2,184 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 63,833 households that answered this question, 48.9% were households made up of just one person and there were 306 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 13,131 married couples without children and 11,603 married couples with children. There were 3,883 single parents with a child or children. There were 2,130 households that were made up of unrelated people, and 1,575 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.


title: Lausanne

text: From the Reformation in the 16th century, the city was mostly Protestant until the late 20th century, when it received substantial immigration, particularly from largely Catholic countries. Catholics now form a plurality of the city's population. The Jewish community gathers at the Synagogue of Lausanne.


title: Lausanne

text: From the , 47,225 people (37.8% of the population) were Roman Catholic, while 33,993 (27.2%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 2,698 members of an Orthodox church (2.16%), there were 65 individuals (0.05%) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 4,437 individuals (3.55%) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 849 individuals (0.68%) who were Jewish, and 7,501 (6.00%) who were Muslim. There were 452 individuals who were Buddhist, 772 individuals who were Hindu and 343 individuals who belonged to another church. 21,080 (16.88%) belonged to no church, were agnostic or atheist, and 7,590 individuals (6.08%) did not answer the question.


title: Lausanne

text: In 2014 the crime rate, of crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code, in Lausanne was 167.3 per thousand residents. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 49.5 per thousand residents, and the rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 21 per thousand residents.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne is served by an extensive network of local, national and international public transport. National and international passenger trains of the Swiss Federal Railways depart from Lausanne railway station, which is also the hub of the RER Vaud commuter rail system, and a stop on the city's metro. The metro and local buses are operated by Transports publics de la région lausannoise (TL), with many routes run using trolleybuses. Additional commuter trains are run by the Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway (LEB) from Lausanne-Flon station. Ships across Lake Geneva are provided by the Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman (CGN).


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne became the first city in Switzerland to have a rubber-tyred metro system, with the m2 Line which opened in October 2008. The rolling stock is a shorter version of the one used on Paris Métro Line 14. Further expansion of the system is planned, as is the re-introduction of trams.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne is connected to the A1 motorway on its west side (Geneva – Zürich axis) and to the A9 on its north and east side (for transit with Italy and France); the interchange between these two motorways is on the north-west side of the city.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne Airport is located at Blécherette, and also houses a Boeing 737 Simulator. The city is also directly linked by train to the Geneva International Airport, four times an hour, in 42min.


title: Lausanne

text: , Lausanne had an unemployment rate of 8%. , there were 114 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 25 businesses involved in this sector. 6,348 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 698 businesses in this sector. 83,157 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 6,501 businesses in this sector.


title: Lausanne

text: There were 59,599 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which women made up 47.4% of the workforce. the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 75,041. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 93, of which 56 were in agriculture, 34 were in forestry or lumber production and 3 were in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 6,057 of which 1,515 or (25.0%) were in manufacturing, 24 or (0.4%) were in mining and 3,721 (61.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 68,891. In the tertiary sector; 8,520 or 12.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 2,955 or 4.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 4,345 or 6.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4,671 or 6.8% were in the information industry, 6,729 or 9.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 8,213 or 11.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 5,756 or 8.4% were in education and 14,312 or 20.8% were in health care.


title: Lausanne

text: , there were 55,789 workers who commuted into the municipality and 19,082 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.9 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 1.9% of the workforce coming into Lausanne are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 40.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 35.1% used a private car.


title: Lausanne

text: In Lausanne about 40,118 or (32.1%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 22,934 or (18.4%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a "Fachhochschule"). Of the 22,934 who completed tertiary schooling, 38.7% were Swiss men, 31.3% were Swiss women, 17.1% were non-Swiss men and 12.9% were non-Swiss women.


title: Lausanne

text: In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 12,244 students in the Lausanne school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 2,648 children of which 1,947 children (73.5%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 6,601 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 5,244 students in those schools. There were also 399 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne is home to several museums, including the "Collection de l'art brut", the "Espace Arlaud", the "Fondation de l'Hermitage", the "Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire", the "Musée cantonal de géologie", the "Musée cantonal de zoologie", the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, the Musée de l'Élysée and the "Musée historique de Lausanne". In 2009 the "Collection de l'art brut" was visited by 27,028 people (the average in previous years was 33,356). The "Espace Arlaud" was visited by 9,222 people (the average in previous years was 14,206). The "Fondation de l'Hermitage" was visited by 89,175 people (the average in previous years was 74,839). The "Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire" was visited by 14,841 people (the average in previous years was 15,775). The "Musée cantonal de zoologie" was visited by 30,794 people (the average in previous years was 30,392). The "Musée cantonal de géologie" was visited by 28,299 people (the average in previous years was 24,248). The Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts was visited by 26,456 people (the average in previous years was 26,384). The Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts was visited by 28,554 people (the average in previous years was 22,879). The Musée de l'Élysée was visited by 36,775 people (the average in previous years was 37,757). The "Musée historique de Lausanne" was visited by 23,116 people (the average in previous years was 22,851).


title: Lausanne

text: , there were 12,147 students in Lausanne who came from another municipality, while 2,258 residents attended schools outside the municipality.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne is home to eight large libraries or collections of libraries. These libraries include the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne, the library of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), the libraries of the "Réseau EPFL", the "Bibliothèque municipale de Lausanne", the "Haute école de travail social et de la santé (EESP)", the "HECV Santé", the "Haute école de la santé La Source" and the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL). There was a combined total () of 3,496,260 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 1,650,534 items were loaned out.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne enjoys some world class education and research establishments (see also Lausanne campus), including private schools, attended by students from around the world.


title: Lausanne

text: There are 46 buildings or sites that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. Additionally, the entire old city of Lausanne and the Vernand-Dessus region are listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.


title: Lausanne

text: The "Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne", the Lausanne Opera and the "Ensemble vocal de Lausanne" provide a diverse and rich musical life. The latter has been under the direction of Michel Corboz for many years.


title: Lausanne

text: In January, the Prix de Lausanne, a famous dance competition, takes place at the Palais de Beaulieu (the biggest theatre in Switzerland) over a one-week period. The event attracts dancers and some of the big names in dance from all over the world.


title: Lausanne

text: The Swiss Film Archive is based in Lausanne and the city hosts film festivals such as the "Festival cinémas d'Afrique" and the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival. In addition to modern cinemas, the "Capitole" (in activity since 1929) is the biggest cinema in Switzerland (currently 867 seats).


title: Lausanne

text: The city hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1989. Each July, the "Festival de la cité" is held in the old town. Other music festivals include the Bach Festival, the "Festival et concours Bach de Lausanne", which follows the "Nuit de musées" (museums' night) in the fall season.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne is home to the IOC, with water sports available on the nearby lake and mountaineering in the nearby mountains. Cycling is also a common pastime, with the vineyards in the surrounding hills providing extensive views and challenging routes. There is an annual Track and field meeting ("Athletissima"), road running through the city (the 20 km (12 mi) of Lausanne), the Tour de Romandie road cycling race, Marathon of Lausanne and triathlon competition, among other sports events. The two most important sports are ice hockey and football. Lausanne hosted the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics and the 2020 IIHF World Championship.


title: Lausanne

text: Lausanne hosts the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and many other international sport associations:


title: Lausanne

text: In March–April 2015, the negotiations on Iran nuclear deal framework for a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme took place at the Beau-Rivage Palace, where the foreign ministers and delegations from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, the European Union, Germany (P5+1) and Iran were also hosted. The final press conference, on 2 April 2015, was held at the EPFL Learning Centre.


title: Barry Pepper

text: Barry Robert Pepper (born April 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He played Private Daniel Jackson in "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), Corrections Officer Dean Stanton in "The Green Mile" (1999), Roger Maris in "61*" (2001), Joseph L. Galloway in "We Were Soldiers" (2002), Sergeant Michael Strank in "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006), Vince in "" (2015) and "" (2018), Lucky Ned Pepper in the remake of the western True Grit (2010) and David Keller in "Crawl" (2019). He has been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe Award. For his role as Robert F. Kennedy in the miniseries "The Kennedys" (2011), Pepper won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.


title: Barry Pepper

text: Pepper was born the youngest of three boys in Campbell River, British Columbia, the son of a lumberjack. When he was five years old, his family set sail in a homemade yacht, navigating through the South Pacific islands for five years. He was educated through correspondence courses and public schools in Polynesia. His family encouraged him to entertain himself through improvisation and acting games while aboard the ship. When the family had finished their travels, they returned to Canada, settling on Denman Island, which his mother's family had called home for five generations. He graduated from Georges P. Vanier Secondary School in 1988. Pepper attended Camosun College after receiving a scholarship for artistic achievement, studying marketing and design. He later moved to Vancouver, where he enrolled in acting classes. He spent four years studying, including at the Gastown Actors Studio, before landing a recurring role on the show "Madison".


title: Barry Pepper

text: Pepper is perhaps best known for his role as the sniper Private Daniel Jackson in "Saving Private Ryan". He portrayed Corrections Officer Dean Stanton in "The Green Mile", appeared as Frank Slaughtery in Spike Lee's "25th Hour", as journalist Joseph L. Galloway in "We Were Soldiers", his role as the heroic antagonist of the film "Battlefield Earth", his depiction of Roger Maris in Billy Crystal's HBO film "61*", as Dale Earnhardt in the ESPN produced film "", and as Dan Morris in the film "Seven Pounds", with Will Smith. He recently had roles in "Casino Jack" and the Coen brothers' "True Grit". Pepper provided the voice for Alex Mercer, the protagonist of the video game "Prototype" and the voice for Corporal Dunn, a character in the video game "".


title: Barry Pepper

text: Pepper won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance in "Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000". He has stated that, had he known in advance he was going to win the award, he would have gladly accepted it in person. He also appeared in Jagged Edge's music video for "Goodbye". In 2011, he starred as Robert F. Kennedy in the Canadian-American TV mini-series "The Kennedys", for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.


title: Barry Pepper

text: In 2015, Pepper appeared in "The Maze Runner" sequel, "", as Vince, "a survivalist who is one of the last remaining soldiers of a legendary unit called the Right Arm". In 2018, Pepper reprised his role as Vince in "".


title: Rambutan

text: Rambutan (; taxonomic name: "Nephelium lappaceum") is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the lychee, longan, pulasan and guinep.


title: Rambutan

text: The name "rambutan" is derived from the Malay word "rambut" meaning 'hair' referring to the numerous hairy protuberances of the fruits, together with the noun-building suffix "-an". Similarly, in Vietnam, they are called "chôm chôm" (meaning 'messy hair').


title: Rambutan

text: The center of genetic diversity for rambutans is the Malaysian−Indonesian region. They have been widely cultivated in southeast Asia areas, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It has spread from there to parts of Asia, Africa, Oceania and Central America.


title: Rambutan

text: Around the 13th to 15th centuries, Arab traders, who played a major role in Indian Ocean trade, introduced rambutans to Zanzibar and Pemba of East Africa. There are limited rambutan plantings in some parts of India. In the 19th century, the Dutch introduced rambutans from their colony in Southeast Asia to Suriname in South America. Subsequently, the plants spread to tropical Americas, planted in the coastal lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Cuba. In 1912, rambutans were introduced to the Philippines from Indonesia. Further introductions were made in 1920 (from Indonesia) and 1930 (from Malaya), but until the 1950s its distribution was limited.


title: Rambutan

text: There was an attempt to introduce rambutans to the Southeastern United States, with seeds imported from Java in 1906, but the species proved to be unsuccessful, except in Puerto Rico.


title: Rambutan

text: It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of . The leaves are alternate, 14–30 cm long, pinnate, with three to 11 leaflets, each leaflet 5–15 cm wide and 3–10 cm broad, with an entire margin.


title: Rambutan

text: The flowers are small, 2.5–5 mm, apetalous, discoidal and borne in erect terminal panicles 15–30 cm wide. Rambutan trees can be male (producing only staminate flowers and, hence, produce no fruit), female (producing flowers that are only functionally female) or hermaphroditic (producing flowers that are female with a small percentage of male flowers).


title: Rambutan

text: The fruit is a round to oval single-seeded drupe, 3–6 cm (rarely to 8 cm) long and 3–4 cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10–20 together. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow) and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name, which means 'hairs'. The spines (also known as "spinterns") contribute to the transpiration of the fruit, which can affect the fruit's quality.


title: Rambutan

text: The fruit flesh, the aril, is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor reminiscent of grapes.


title: Rambutan

text: The single seed is glossy brown, 1–1.3 cm, with a white basal scar. Soft and containing equal portions of saturated and unsaturated fats, the seed may be cooked and eaten, but is bitter and has narcotic properties.


title: Rambutan

text: Aromatic rambutan flowers are highly attractive to many insects, especially bees. Flies (Diptera), bees (Hymenoptera) and ants ("Solenopsis") are the main pollinators. Among the Diptera, "Lucilia" spp. are abundant and among the Hymenoptera, honey bees ("Apis dorsata" and "A. cerana") and the stingless bee genus "Trigona" are the major visitors. "A. cerana" colonies foraging on rambutan flowers produce large quantities of honey. Bees foraging for nectar routinely contact the stigma of female flowers and gather significant quantities of the sticky pollen from male blossoms. Little pollen has been seen on bees foraging female flowers. Although male flowers open at 06:00, foraging by "A. cerana" is most intense between 07:00 and 11:00, tapering off rather abruptly thereafter. In Thailand, "A. cerana" is the preferred species for small-scale pollination of rambutan. Its hair is also helpful in pollination where pollen can be hooked on and transported to female flowers.


title: Rambutan

text: Rambutan is a fruit tree cultivated in humid tropical Southeast Asia. It is a common garden fruit tree and propagated commercially in small orchards. It is one of the best-known fruits of Southeast Asia and is also widely cultivated elsewhere in the tropics including Africa, southern Mexico, the Caribbean islands, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, India, Vietnam, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. It is also produced in Ecuador where it is known as "achotillo," and on the island of Puerto Rico.


title: Rambutan

text: , Thailand was the largest producer of rambutans (, ), growing 450,000 tonnes, followed by Indonesia at 100,000 tonnes, and Malaysia, 60,000 tonnes. In Thailand, major cultivation centers are Chanthaburi Province, followed by Chumphon Province and Surat Thani Province. In Indonesia, the production center of rambutan is in the western parts of Indonesia, which includes Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan. In Java, the orchards and "pekarangan" (habitation yards) in the villages of Greater Jakarta and West Java, have been known as rambutan production centers since colonial era, with trading center in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.


title: Rambutan

text: During 2017 and years before, imports of rambutan to the European Union were about 1,000 tonnes annually, enabling a year-round supply from numerous tropical suppliers.


title: Rambutan

text: The fruits are usually sold fresh and have a short shelf-life, and are commonly used in making jams and jellies, or canned. Evergreen rambutan trees with their abundant colored fruit make attractive landscape specimens.


title: Rambutan

text: In India, rambutan is imported from Thailand, as well as grown in Pathanamthitta District of the southern state of Kerala.


title: Rambutan

text: Rambutans are not a climacteric fruit — that is, they ripen only on the tree and appear not to produce a ripening agent, such as the plant hormone ethylene, after being harvested. However, at post harvest, the quality of the fruit is affected by storage factors. Low humidity levels, storage time, and incidences of mechanical damage can severely affect the quality of the fruit which would negatively affect the demand of such. In general, the fruit has a short shelf life in ambient conditions but implementing methods that can extend such is a productional advantage. Certain treatments like irradiation and the use of hot-forced air can help in fruit preservation although the former has seen more success.


title: Rambutan

text: Rambutans are adapted to warm tropical climates, around 22–30 °C, and are sensitive to temperatures below 10 °C. It is grown commercially within 12–15° of the equator. The trees grows well at elevations up to above sea level, and does best in deep soil, clay loam or sandy loam rich in organic matter. They grow on hilly terrain where there is good drainage.


title: Rambutan

text: Rambutans are propagated by grafting, air-layering, and budding. Budded trees may fruit after two to three years with optimum production occurring after eight to 10 years. Trees grown from seed bear after five to six years.


title: Rambutan

text: The aril is attached to the seed in some commercial cultivars, but "freestone" cultivars are available and in high demand. Usually, a single light brown seed is found, which is high in certain fats and oils (primarily oleic acid and arachidic acid) valuable to industry, and used in cooking and the manufacture of soap. Rambutan roots, bark, and leaves have various uses in traditional medicine and in the production of dyes.