Congressman: We're Victims of a 'Ruse' on Swastika Flag

A congressman says nothing sinister is going on with his staff after a swastika was spotted pinned up on a wall. Instead, GOP Rep. Dave Taylor of Ohio says his office was the victim of a "ruse," reports Politico.

• "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," said Taylor in a statement. "My office was among those that were subjected to this ruse."

• The controversy began when an image of the altered flag in Taylor's office surfaced in a screen-grab from a virtual meeting. See it here.
• Similar flags were sent through the US Postal Service to multiple GOP congressional offices earlier this year, reports NBC News. One of its sources describes the swastika as an "optical illusion" that might not be seen on a first pass.
• But another GOP Capitol Hill staffer—not from Taylor's office—tells Politico that when they received the flag, "it was plainly obvious to us that there was a swastika on the flag with the naked eye." It was thrown away.
• It remains unclear who mailed the flags. The Taylor aide sitting in front of the flag, Angelo Elia, has not commented on the incident.