An aide to Ohio Congressman Dave Taylor had an American flag with a swastika on it behind him during a video conference, Politico reported Wednesday. The aide, Angelo “A.J.” Elia, was a Democrat activist until recently, and ironically served as a leader of his county’s Young Democrats group just a few years ago.

A May 2022 news article listed Elia as “Mahoning County Young Democrats and Youngstown State University College Democrats president.” In 2020, Elia was a member of the Mahoning County Young Democrats.

A friend in DC had a Zoom call with Congressman Dave Taylor’s office today…

Taylor’s legislative correspondent, Angelo Elia, had what can only be described as an American swastika flag prominently displayed in his background. pic.twitter.com/zFn3QowS0c

— The Rooster (@rooster_ohio) October 15, 2025

In 2017, the Mahoning County Young Democrats posted a picture depicting a false flag operation that with rally goers holding a sign that said “Insecure, Small Penised, White Guys for Trump!”

This week, the Mahoning County Young Democrats posted a message from the national group that “calls for the immediate resignation of the Young Republican leaders” involved in the Politico story about offensive messages in a group chat. “At Young Democrats of America, we hold our leaders and members to a higher standard,” it said.

According to his LinkedIn, which lists his pronouns, Elia worked for Blue Phoenix Strategies until December 2023. During that time period, the firm was working against “voter restrictions…enacted by the republicans in Ohio’s government” that could hurt “POC throughout the state.” On November 8, 2023, it posted on Facebook: “We did it, Ohio!” celebrating the passage of ballot initiatives for “abortion rights” and to “legalize marijuana.”

Another Facebook post by the firm shows Elia holding a sticker for candidate Chris Colon, a social worker who founded an NGO and was running for Liberty Township trustee. In a 2024 WFMJ article, Colon said his goal was to bring immigrants to Ohio to take jobs. “We’re trying to bring people into our workforce specifically,” he said. “We know that there are jobs here in the Mahoning Valley and we know that immigrants and refugees can be a small piece to filling those workforce needs here in the Valley.”

Elia’s bio on the firm’s website said “Growing up in a working-class family A.J. understands the effect politics has on working people.” It listed him as “Associate Consultant” and said he was a senior at Youngstown State University.

Taylor called the flag “office vandalism,” saying 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.”

Taylor hired Elia in January 2025. Taylor’s spokeswoman did not return a request for comment, nor did Elia. The staffer’s background was first flagged by Sean Kennedy of Virgians for Safe Communities.

EXCLUSIVE & Weird… the Swastika Flag GOP Hill staffer Angela “AJ” Elia was president of College Democrats at Youngstown State University, treasurer of Mahoning County Young Dems, & political consultant to progressive pro-amnesty candidate… as of 2023.
[Links below] pic.twitter.com/YyOP2M2LQ3

— Virginians 4 Safe Communities (@VA4SafeComm) October 16, 2025

Fox News’s Chad Pergram reported this week that several sources told him the flag might have been an “optical illusion” and “easy to miss.”

Swastika” Flag In Office of Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH) May Be An “optical illusion” and “easy to miss”

The weird story about an aide to Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH) having a flag in his Capitol Hill office with a swastika on it, has just gotten weirder.

Multiple sources tell Fox –…

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 16, 2025

“Multiple sources tell Fox — including those investigating the issue – the flag in question is an American flag — but with a swastika embedded into the ink or weaving,” Pergram wrote on X. “And here’s the strange part: the swastika is not obvious to the naked eye. But is more visible when captured on video or by a still photo.

Related: Virginia Dems Say ‘Our Democracy’ Depends On Voting For Candidate Who Fantasized About Assassination

A pro-life organization is fighting back after a leftist group ripped off its logo to promote so-called “abortion rights.”

40 Days for Life President Shawn Carney told The Daily Wire that the New Mexico group Pro Choice Las Cruces was illegally using his organization’s logo to push abortion. Carney said that he was prepared to sue the pro-abortion group if it did not stop using its proprietary material immediately.

In a pair of letters obtained by The Daily Wire, the 40 Days for Life legal team demanded that Pro Choice Las Cruces immediately cease using its logo. Those letters came after Pro Choice Las Cruces started mimicking the logo of 40 Days for Life on its Facebook page in September, an action that Carney called a “clear violation” of copyright law.

The pro-abortion group took the logo, added an illustration of a woman’s reproductive system, and changed the words from “40 Days for Life” to “40 Days for Choice.” The group also changed the motto from “The Beginning of the End of Abortion” to “The Beginning of the End of Oppresion [sic].”

Las Cruces is located at a key spot near the Texas border and is a popular destination for abortion tourism, Carney said. Neighboring states like Texas have enacted pro-life laws, pushing many to travel out of state to end the lives of their unborn children. New Mexico has no protections for the unborn in place.

40 Days for Life sent its first cease-and-desist letter on October 10, and another letter on Friday, warning the organization that it may be violating copyright law.

The letters were sent to Hailey Walker, a leftist activist linked to the Women’s March in Las Cruces. That organization shares a Facebook page with Pro Choice Las Cruces. According to Walker, the group responded to the first letter by refusing to stop using the logo.

“Given your response to our notice to cease and desist, it is clear your actions are willful and intentional. Pro Choice Las Cruces/Women’s March Las Cruces stole 40 Days for Life font, logo, name, colors and tagline in an intentional way to confuse the public,” a letter sent Friday by 40 Days for Life said.

Carney said that other leftist groups have co-opted their messages in the past and that his organization is prepared for further legal action. He said they would be ready to sue Walker “if need be.”

He also noted that instead of oppressing women, as Pro Choice Las Cruces suggests, pro-life activists support women by offering alternatives to abortion. 40 Days for Life often helps women considering abortions find free medical care alternatives.

“They feel unbelievable gratitude that we were out there and that we were willing to help them on what was a very hard day for them, and a day they never wanted to be in that position to be driving in for an abortion, but they were, and we didn’t judge them. We didn’t oppress them.
We helped them and helped them with tangible alternatives,” Carney said.

In contrast, he said that the “left offers nothing with abortion” and feels threatened by the alternatives offered by groups like his.

Pro Choice Las Cruces has until October 20 to take down the logo or face further action from 40 Days for Life.