GOP Rep. Blames Coordinated 'Ruse' After Swastika Image Is Seen Displayed In His Office

Ohio Republican Representative Dave Taylor demanded an investigation after a swastika image was found on display in his Washington, D.C., office, and blamed it on a "targeted" "ruse."

Politico obtained a photo from a virtual meeting showing a distorted image of the American flag—its red and white lines altered into the shape of a swastika— pinned to what appears to be a cubicle wall behind Angelo Elia, a staffer for Taylor. Beside it hung a pocket Constitution and a congressional calendar. Elia’s involvement in the incident, if any, remains unclear.

The flag was discovered Tuesday afternoon inside Taylor’s office in the Cannon Building, according to a spokesperson.

You can see it in the photo below.

@rooster_ohio/X

In a statement, Taylor said:

“I am aware of an image that appears to depict a vile and deeply inappropriate symbol near an employee in my office. The content of that image does not reflect the values or standards of this office, my staff, or myself, and I condemn it in the strongest terms.”

"Upon learning of this matter, I immediately directed a thorough investigation alongside Capitol Police, which remains ongoing. No further comment will be provided until it has been completed.”

The following day, Taylor took a different posture on the whole affair, claiming that his and other GOP offices were "targeted."

“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,” he said. “My office was among those that were subjected to this ruse.”

The image angered many and has received widespread condemnation.

Politico's report came just one day after the site published 2,900 pages of leaked exchanges between a dozen state-level Young Republican leaders in different states.

Young Republican leaders called Black people “monkeys” and “the watermelon people" and talked about reinstituting slavery. They also praised the genocidal Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, and referenced raping Democrats and gassing them, much like the Nazis did to the Jews and others during the Holocaust.

For instance, Joe Maligno, general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, wrote, “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic." Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committeewoman, said, "I'm ready to watch people burn now."

Several have already faced consequences, with at least one forced to resign from their position as a chief of staff to a GOP politician. Vice President JD Vance was also called out for dismissing the "pearl-clutching" over "a college group chat" even though eight of the 11 members in the chat spanned the ages of 24-35, with the ages of three other members not publicly available.