Several Republican congressional offices received American flags marked with “obscured” swastikas, Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio, said Thursday, a day after a photo surfaced of one displayed in his office, Politico reported.
U.S. Capitol Police on Wednesday responded to reports of an American flag featuring a swastika that had been displayed in Taylor’s office, according to his spokesperson.
As first reported by Politico, a photo from a virtual meeting held Tuesday afternoon shows the altered flag pinned to what appears to be a cubicle wall behind Angelo Elia, a staffer for the congressman.
A pocket Constitution and a congressional calendar were displayed near the flag, which had red and white stripes arranged in the shape of a swastika.
“Numerous Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual who distributed American flags bearing a similar symbol, which were initially indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye,” Taylor said in a statement Thursday.
“My office was among those that were subjected to this ruse.”
Taylor’s office immediately called for Capitol Police to intervene, calling the act “vandalism” and pledging full cooperation in the ongoing probe.
“After a full-scale internal investigation, I am confident that no employee of this office would knowingly display such a despicable image,” he said.
“The flag in question was taken down immediately.”
A Republican staffer from a different congressional office told Politico that earlier in the year, similar flags were mailed to several offices on the Hill.
“It was plainly obvious to us that there was a swastika on the flag with the naked eye,” the staffer said.
There was no probe, and the flag was discarded “the same way we’d get rid of hate mail,” the staffer added.
Elia reportedly joined the virtual meeting only minutes before the altered flag came into view. During the call, he neither acknowledged nor reacted to the symbol, according to anonymous sources.
One Hill aide said: “It was clearly behind him, on the screen.”
Democrats have expressed skepticism about Taylor’s account that no staffer noticed the image sooner.
“It is plausible that Taylor never saw the flag in his office,” said Eric Schmeltzer, a Democrat consultant and former press secretary for Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
“But it is not at all plausible that every other staffer had no clue that flag was there.”
Public attention has led to inquiries regarding Elia’s experience working as a legislative correspondent for Taylor’s office.
Elia has not publicly responded to inquiries. Taylor’s office declined to say whether the congressman ever saw the flag himself or whether Elia remains on staff.
The Capitol Police said in a statement that its public information office “will re-open when the federal government is funded.”
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