November 2023: Republican Doug McLinko Was Reelected Bradford County Commissioner. “The 2023 Bradford County municipal elections featured two incumbent commissioners re-elected, while another candidate was elected to the board on Tuesday. Republicans Daryl Miller and Doug McLinko were both re-elected as commissioners, while Democrat Zachary Gates was elected to fill the seat of Commissioner John Sullivan, who is stepping down. Kim Pitcher Also ran as a Democrat for the commissioners office, but fell short” [Daily Review & Sunday Review, 11/8/23]
Doug McLinko Described Himself As A “Hard-Core Republican On Ballot Security” And Trump Loyalist. But Mr. McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, raised eyebrows this year when he added Pennsylvania to his list of top priorities. Some Republicans involved in efforts to recruit Senate candidates have privately wondered whether Mr. McConnell’s statement was meant to help persuade Mr. McCormick to enter the race. ‘Dave has the guts — and the money — to run,” said Doug McLinko, a county commissioner in Bradford County who describes himself as a ‘hard-core Republican on ballot security’ and a Trump loyalist.” [New York Times, 9/21/23]
March 2022: Doug McLinko Was Recorded Saying, “Donald Trump Did Not Lose Pennsylvania. He Did Not Lose Pennsylvania.” “Audio recordings from the March 31 ‘Pennsylvania Election Summit’ reveals D’Agostino was among the audience members. [...] On the conference audio recording, one of the speakers can be heard directly questioning D'Agostino. The audio was provided to LNP | LancasterOnline by Documented, an investigative journalism organization that describes its mission as reporting on threats to democracy. ‘Ray might have to help me with this, there’s a contract with the Department of State, I think it’s B-Comm,’ speaker Doug McLinko said, before pausing to hear a response called out from the audience, ‘B-Pro.’ McLinko is a county commissioner from Bradford County. [...] ‘I got some good news,’ MClinko [sic] can also be heard telling conference attendees. ‘Donald Trump did not lose Pennsylvania. He did not lose Pennsylvania.’” [LancasterOnline, 9/11/22]
September 2022: Doug McLinko Met With Trump To Discuss Pennsylvania’s Voting Process And Said Trump Told Him “We Fought The Fight For Integrity In Elections.” “Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko had the rare opportunity to meet with the former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump last Tuesday. McLinko said the meeting, which was held at Trump Tower in New York City, was called to discuss the integrity of Pennsylvania's voting process. [...] ‘I went to this meeting to represent the people of Bradford County. I was thankful for the meeting to tell him about Pennsylvania and how messed up the voting is,’ McLinko said during a phone interview. ‘The guy is terrific and he appreciates the fight we are putting up. He appreciated me for the lawsuit and that we fought the fight for integrity in elections. It wasn't about him or me; it was about the future of Pennsylvania.’” [Morning Times, 9/13/22]
Doug McLinko Attended The January 6, 2021 Rally But Claimed He “Never Went Near The Capitol,” And Criticized The Rioters By Saying, “We All Have A Right To Assemble, We Don’t Have A Right To Break In And Destroy.” “Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko was in Washington, D.C. that day and saw President Donald Trump’s speech with several county locals who traveled by bus. [...] ‘It was one of the most boring speeches I’ve ever heard and I saw nothing that he said that would incite a riot,’ he said. ‘We never went near the Capitol, we want back to the bus and heard the news as we were leaving.’ [...] ‘I don’t approve of anybody entering that Capitol building, not one. We all have a right to assemble, we don’t have a right to break in and destroy,’ he said.” [Daily Review, 1/7/22]
Doug McLinko Said That Trump’s January 6 Speech Was “One Of The Most Boring Speeches I’ve Ever Heard And I Saw Nothing That He Said That Would Incite A Riot.” “McLinko said that his experience that day was of people laughing and having a good time despite the cold weather, and thinking that the president’s speech wasn’t that exciting. ‘It was one of the most boring speeches I’ve ever heard and I saw nothing that he said that would incite a riot,’ he said.” [Daily Review, 1/7/22]
Doug McLinko: “I Didn’t Go Down There To Overturn The Election Or Anything Like That [...] We Went Down There To Support Our President And Ask For Fair Elections.” “McLinko stressed that he wanted to be at the rally to support election integrity and for having safe and secure elections. ‘I didn’t go down there to overturn the election or anything like that, none of us did. We went down there to support our president and ask for fair elections,’ he said.” [Daily Review, 1/7/22]
Doug McLinko Said The January 6th Rally In Washington “Was Upbeat, It Was Fun. We Were There To Support Our Country And Our Constitution.” “A group of approximately 40 local citizens, as well as other residents who travelled individually, gathered with hundreds of thousands of people from across the country in Washington D.C. on Wednesday for a rally in support of election integrity and President Donald Trump. Bradford County locals in attendance at the rally witnessed first-hand a now historic day in America as a group of individuals breached security and stormed inside the Capitol Building. Two of those locals, Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko and area business owner Bob Raimo, said the violence televised from the Capitol was not an accurate representation of the atmosphere of the rally. Both McLinko and Raimo stated that from their separate vantage points near the Washington Monument, approximately a mile away from the Capitol Building, the rally was peaceful and pleasant. ‘There were half a million people or more, it was unbelievable. Everything from church groups singing hymns to the families, all of it, it was wonderful and people were upbeat and happy,’ McLinko commented. ‘It was upbeat, it was fun. We were there to support our country and our Constitution. ... To say that everybody was angry and stuff is absolutely false.’” [Daily Review & Sunday Review, 1/8/21]
Discussing His Presence At The January 6th Rally, Doug McLinko Said, “Nobody That I Know Of Wanted The Election Overturned Just To Put Donald Trump Back In Office, What We Wanted Was To Make Sure That The Election Was Fair.” “McLinko also pointed out that local people were ‘absolutely not’ in the Capitol. The commissioner stressed that he, and many other participants of the rally, were not in Washington to specifically support President Trump, but more so to fight for election integrity. ‘We were there for one reason and one reason only and that was vote integrity. The same integrity, the same that we have in Bradford County. We all believe that Act 77 started a mess and it's a mess that we know it violates our Constitution. This is bigger than Donald Trump. What we were down there for was not just voter integrity but our constitution which we think was incredibly violated throughout the United States. That's why we were there,’ McLinko said. [...] ‘Nobody that I know of wanted the election overturned just to put Donald Trump back in office, what we wanted was to make sure that the election was fair, that all the votes were legal, constitutionally legal, and then whoever won we could all live with it, that's just the way it is,’ McLinko continued. ‘But you can't live under a bucket someplace and ever think that after you see all the things that happened that you can really rest at ease knowing that the election was done fairly. And that doesn't mean the outcomes change, that's not what that means ... we want to make sure, and me as a commissioner, want to make sure that every vote in my county wasn't offset by illegal votes.’” [Daily Review & Sunday Review, 1/8/21]
Doug McLinko: “But You Can't Live Under A Bucket Someplace And Ever Think That After You See All The Things That Happened That You Can Really Rest At Ease Knowing That The Election Was Done Fairly.” “McLinko also pointed out that local people were ‘absolutely not’ in the Capitol. The commissioner stressed that he, and many other participants of the rally, were not in Washington to specifically support President Trump, but more so to fight for election integrity. ‘We were there for one reason and one reason only and that was vote integrity. The same integrity, the same that we have in Bradford County. We all believe that Act 77 started a mess and it's a mess that we know it violates our Constitution. This is bigger than Donald Trump. What we were down there for was not just voter integrity but our constitution which we think was incredibly violated throughout the United States. That's why we were there,’ McLinko said. [...] ‘Nobody that I know of wanted the election overturned just to put Donald Trump back in office, what we wanted was to make sure that the election was fair, that all the votes were legal, constitutionally legal, and then whoever won we could all live with it, that's just the way it is,’ McLinko continued. ‘But you can't live under a bucket someplace and ever think that after you see all the things that happened that you can really rest at ease knowing that the election was done fairly. And that doesn't mean the outcomes change, that's not what that means ... we want to make sure, and me as a commissioner, want to make sure that every vote in my county wasn't offset by illegal votes.’” [Daily Review & Sunday Review, 1/8/21]
January 2021: Doug McLinko Posted An Advertisement To Go To The January 6, 2021 March In D.C. To “Answer Our President’s Call.” [Facebook, Doug McLinko, 1/1/21]
Days After Jan. 6, Doug McLinko Claimed That The Rioters Weren’t Trump Supporters, But Were Members Of An Outside Group, Adding, “I Don’t Know Who It Is, Whether It’s Proud Boys, Antifa, It Doesn’t Matter.” “Both McLinko and Raimo condemned the storming of the Capitol Building and claimed that it was not supporters of the president, but instead members of an outside group that incited the violence [...] McLinko stated. ‘I don’t know who it is, whether it’s Proud Boys, Antifa, it doesn’t matter, any racist organization, any violent organization, not only needs to be condemned[.’]” [Daily Review, 1/8/21]
October 2022: Doug McLinko Posted An Advertisement For The Film “2000 Mules.” [Facebook, Doug McLinko, 10/25/22]
“2,000 Mules” Was A “Widely Debunked” Film Claiming The 2020 Election Was Stolen. “For months, the conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza teased that the book version of his widely debunked film ‘2,000 Mules’ would provide compelling new evidence that the 2020 election was ‘stolen.’ The film has been repeatedly promoted by former President Donald Trump, who even hosted a screening at his Mar-a-Lago resort.” [NPR, 9/8/22]