A New York socialist who bragged about wiping her dirty hands on the American flag now has party backing for Congress — and the local socialist leadership still refuses to say that was wrong.
Story Snapshot
- Democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier won the NY-13 primary after posts mocking the U.S. flag and service members resurfaced.
- Her deleted posts praised communism, called America a “disgrace,” and described using the American flag as a napkin.
- Chevalier now says she “regrets” her language, but has not clearly addressed the flag or war-crimes posts.
- New York City Democratic Socialists of America leaders still back her and refuse to condemn the flag comment.
Socialist Candidate’s Flag Comment Sparks Outrage
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist and New York City Democratic Socialists of America member, recently won the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District, defeating five-term Representative Adriano Espaillat. After her upset win, old social media posts from 2019 resurfaced where she bragged that she “forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” adding a smiling emoji. For many Americans, using the nation’s flag as a napkin crosses a bright line of basic respect.
Reports say Chevalier also called the United States a “f–––ing disgrace” in another deleted post. These comments came alongside posts attacking core American institutions, including police, prisons, borders, and deportations. In 2020, she wrote that “all deportations are wrong” and supported abolishing borders and prisons, while also calling to “seize the means of production” and nationalize major industries. Together, these statements show more than youthful slang; they show a deep hostility toward the country’s laws, sovereignty, and national symbols.
Pattern of Radical Rhetoric and Anti-Military Posts
Chevalier’s deleted account, reviewed by outlets including CNN and Yahoo News, repeatedly praised communism, Marxist theory, and Soviet figures such as Vladimir Lenin. Her bio at one point read “how communist of you,” and she pushed Karl Marx’s Capital as “essential must-read” while complaining that libraries did not carry enough Lenin and other revolutionaries. This was paired with retweets from accounts openly identifying as communist, including praise for displays featuring works by Joseph Stalin. This is not standard progressive talk; it is open comfort with hard-line, anti-capitalist ideology.
Critics are also alarmed by Chevalier’s attitude toward the U.S. military. In a 2022 post discussed in a Vox interview, she mocked U.S. service members for committing “war crimes.” She also called President Joe Biden a “rapist” and “war criminal” during the 2020 election and referred to the United States as a “f–––ing disgrace.” For families who have buried loved ones under that flag, hearing a would-be lawmaker smear service members while wiping dirty hands on Old Glory feels like contempt, not “critique.”
Regrets, But No Clear Reversal on Flag or Border Abolition
On the campaign trail, Chevalier has tried to soften the backlash by framing her posts as youthful frustration. During an NY1 debate she said she “deeply regrets” tweets between 2018 and 2022 attacking establishment Democrats and described this as “taking accountability.” In a later Vox interview she admitted, “I certainly wouldn’t use a lot of the language that I used back then today,” saying she has learned to think more carefully about rhetoric in politics. These statements show embarrassment over tone, but they do not directly walk back the substance of her radical ideas.
Chevalier has not given a detailed, primary-source rebuttal to the specific tweet about wiping her hands on the American flag. She has also not offered a clear correction or apology for the post mocking U.S. service members as “war criminals” or for her explicit calls to abolish police, prisons, borders, and deportations. Instead, she frames these posts as part of a past era that should not matter now, saying critics are “litigating the politics of the past instead of the politics of the future.” For many voters, especially those who value the flag and the rule of law, that feels like sidestepping, not accountability.
DSA Backing Raises Questions About Party Values
Despite the controversy, New York City Democratic Socialists of America leaders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani continue to strongly back Chevalier’s candidacy. The group endorsed her primary challenge and has not broken with her even after national attention to the flag post and her praise for communism. Reports describe New York City Democratic Socialists of America leaders refusing to condemn her comment about wiping dirty hands on the flag when pressed, choosing instead to focus on her housing and immigration agenda. That silence sends its own message about what the organization is willing to accept from its candidates.
🚨 Darializa Avila Chevalier, co-founder of CUAD and now the Democrat nominee for NY-13, is tied to a group whose own words call for “undermining and eradicating America” and bringing “unrest and violence in America.”
This is not someone who can honestly swear the oath to… pic.twitter.com/dzkf18S6N3
— Gina Beana Fofina (@Ginasassyass) June 29, 2026
Chevalier’s platform today still includes abolishing United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, opposing all deportations and detention, and sharply reducing military spending. She pushes federal social housing, universal health care, and strict limits on campaign super political action committees, while remaining “unequivocal” in condemning Israel as an apartheid state. Supporters say this focus proves she is serious about policy, not just tweets. Critics counter that her words and her allies’ refusal to condemn open disrespect for the flag reveal a deeper problem: a political movement comfortable with tearing down the nation’s symbols, borders, and institutions while asking to govern them.
Sources:
twitchy.com, facebook.com, yahoo.com, instagram.com, abc3340.com, nytimes.com
