Rep. Dave Taylor: Republican lawmaker claims his offices and those of other Republicans were ‘targeted’ with flags depicting ‘despicable’ symbol
Republican Rep. Dave Taylor said Thursday that his office was targeted as part of an elaborate “ruse” after an American flag allegedly altered to include a swastika was found in his Washington, D.C., office earlier this week and similar flags were found in other Republican offices.
“Numerous Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual distributing American flags bearing a similar symbol, which were initially indistinguishable from a regular American flag to the naked eye. My office was among those subjected to this ruse,” the Ohio congressman said in a statement Thursday.
Taylor did not provide any evidence or name the other offices he said were affected. No other GOP offices had come forward publicly as of Thursday evening to report similar incidents.
He said he was “confident” that none of his colleagues “would knowingly display such a despicable image”.
The congressman said Wednesday that his office is conducting an internal investigation into the incident alongside the U.S. Capitol Police.
CNN has contacted Capitol Police for more details. In response, the agency sent an automated response stating that its public information office was closed for routine business during the government shutdown.
The congressman stopped short of identifying the symbol on the flag as a swastika, instead describing it as a “vile” symbol. But Politico reported Wednesday that the USCP was called after an American flag altered to include a swastika was found in Taylor’s Washington, DC, office.
CNN’s Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
