An aide to Ohio Republican Congressman Dave Taylor was spotted with an American flag bearing a swastika in the background during a Zoom call, sparking controversy. The staffer, Angelo 'A.J.' Elia, has a recent history as a Democratic activist. Taylor condemned the image as office vandalism and launched an investigation.
On October 15, 2025, a friend in Washington, D.C., shared a screenshot from a Zoom call with Rep. Dave Taylor's office, showing legislative correspondent Angelo 'A.J.' Elia with an American flag displaying a swastika prominently behind him. The image, first reported by Politico, quickly drew attention on social media, with user @rooster_ohio posting: 'Taylor’s legislative correspondent, Angelo Elia, had what can only be described as an American swastika flag prominently displayed in his background.'
Elia, hired by Taylor in January 2025, was until recently active in Democratic circles. A May 2022 news article identified him as president of the Mahoning County Young Democrats and Youngstown State University College Democrats. In 2020, he was a member of the Mahoning County Young Democrats. His LinkedIn profile lists his pronouns and notes employment at Blue Phoenix Strategies until December 2023, where the firm opposed Republican-enacted voter restrictions in Ohio affecting people of color. The firm celebrated Ohio's November 8, 2023, ballot initiatives on abortion rights and marijuana legalization with a Facebook post: 'We did it, Ohio!' Elia's bio on the firm's website described him as an associate consultant from a working-class family and a senior at Youngstown State University. A Facebook post showed him supporting candidate Chris Colon, who in a 2024 WFMJ article advocated bringing immigrants to fill jobs in the Mahoning Valley: 'We’re trying to bring people into our workforce specifically... immigrants and refugees can be a small piece to filling those workforce needs.'
Rep. Taylor responded swiftly, calling the flag 'office vandalism' in a statement: '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.' Neither Taylor's spokeswoman nor Elia returned requests for comment. The issue was first flagged by Sean Kennedy of Virginians for Safe Communities, who on October 16, 2025, tweeted about Elia's Democratic background.
Fox News reporter Chad Pergram cited multiple sources, including investigators, suggesting the swastika might be an 'optical illusion' embedded in the flag's ink or weaving, 'easy to miss' with the naked eye but visible in photos or video. The Mahoning County Young Democrats, which Elia once led, recently called for resignations in a separate Politico story about offensive Young Republican messages, stating: 'At Young Democrats of America, we hold our leaders and members to a higher standard.' In 2017, the group had posted an image mocking Trump supporters with a sign reading 'Insecure, Small Penised, White Guys for Trump!'