Angelo Elia, a Youngstown State University graduate and Struthers native working for an Ohio Republican congressman, is facing questions about having an American flag altered to include a swastika on display at his desk.

Elia’s boss, U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Amelia, contends in a statement that the flag is “vandalism” in his Washington, D.C., office. NBC News reported that multiple Republican congressional offices received American flags earlier this year with an “optical illusion” swastika embedded in it.

Taylor said Thursday: “New details have emerged from a coordinated investigation into the vile symbol that appeared in my office. 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. My office was among those that were subjected to this ruse. After a full-scale internal investigation, I am confident that no employee of this office would knowingly display such a despicable image and the flag in question was taken down immediately upon the discovery of the obscured symbol it bore.”

A day earlier, 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 House Administration Committee is also investigating.

The photo of Elia with the altered flag was posted online by D.J. Byrnes, who runs The Rooster, a left-leaning Ohio political blog.

The photo posted by Byrnes shows Elia, Taylor’s legislative correspondent since January, on a Zoom call with the altered American swastika flag pinned to a cubicle wall by his desk with a YSU “Y” directly above it.

Elia, a 2023 YSU graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, got his start in politics working for progressive organizations and served as the president of the Mahoning County Young Democrats before he moved to Washington, D.C. He received a master’s degree in legislative affairs from George Washington University earlier this year, according to his LinkedIn page.

While in the Mahoning Valley, Elia worked as an associate consultant for two local political consulting firms: KO Consulting LLC from January 2022 to December 2023 and for Blue Phoenix Strategies from June 2022 to December 2023.

Anthony Stratis, the former managing partner for Blue Phoenix, said he was “shocked and saddened” to learn of what happened..

“He was very progressive minded when I knew him,” Stratis said of Elia. “It’s disgusting. It’s disturbing and I absolutely don’t condone it.”

Stratis said Elia went door-to-door campaigning in 2023 in favor of the state’s abortion rights constitutional amendment that passed and had succeeded him as president of the Mahoning County Young Democrats.

“This is not consistent with the person who I knew,” Stratis said. “It’s heartbreaking. I’m very progressive. It took a minute for me to comprehend that this is the same person who was fighting for a woman’s right to choose and fighting for higher wages for the middle class.”

Kristen Olmi, CEO of KO Consulting, said Elia “never exhibited this behavior or set of beliefs as a member of our team. KO Consulting LLC strongly condemns any images, actions, beliefs or behaviors that promote antisemitism and hate. This type of behavior has no place in America.”

Before being hired in January as Taylor’s legislative correspondent, Elia worked for a year as a staff assistant for Alignment Government Strategies, a bipartisan Washington, D.C., government relations firm. Among the firm’s officials is Mike Smullen, former chief of staff to Republican Bill Johnson, who left Congress in January 2024 to become YSU president.

The Elia flag incident comes on the heels of the disclosure of a group chat among Young Republican group leaders throughout the country that includes racist comments about blacks, wanting to kill and torture their political opponents and praising Adolf Hitler.