An individual who was a member of the same National Guard unit in 2021 pete hegsethTrump, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, confirmed he sent a letter to his superiors warning that Hegseth's bear tattoo indicates he is a potential “insider threat.” President Biden's inauguration,
The Associated Press reported that 12 US National Guard members were removed from helping secure Mr Biden's 2021 inauguration after investigations by the US military and the FBI. They were found to be making extremist statements in posts or text messages or to have ties to right-wing militia groups. In an interview with podcaster Shawn Ryan, Hegseth said he was one of the National Guard members removed from the inauguration ceremony.
He told Ryan, “I was deemed an extremist by my National Guard unit in Washington, DC because of a tattoo and my orders to protect the Biden inauguration were revoked… a Jerusalem cross tattoo which is just a Christian symbol. “
But that's not the tattoo that fellow Guardsman Derricko Gaither told his superiors about. “When I saw the pictures – in one he had a tattoo of a Jerusalem cross, I didn't think there was a problem,” he told CBS News.
“In the next picture he had a bicep on his inner bicep that said 'Deux Vult,'” Gaither said. “I looked at it, and that tattoo had ties to extremist groups. So, I sent it to my leadership. I included photo attachments and the Army's policy about tattoos. I said I just wanted to know if “It's happening. I received a response saying that Pete has been removed from the mission.”
He said in his letter, which was obtained by CBS News, “The white-supremacist use of #DesVuelt and the return to medieval Catholicism is to invoke the myth of a white Christian (i.e. Catholic) medieval past that ignores the real demographics.” Wants and the theological position of Catholicism today.”
He further added, “Des Vult has gained popularity among members of the alt-right due to its perceived representation of the clash of civilizations between the Christian West and the Islamic world.”
Citing a military statute banning extremist tattoos, Gaither said the Des Vult tattoo “falls in line with the insider threat line.” The Associated Press And reuters The National Guard was first informed about Gaither's warning letter.
“Des Vult” is a Christian motto that refers to divine providence. It originated as a rally of the Crusaders. But experts on domestic violent extremism say the Latin phrase has also been adopted by some members of the far right in recent years.
For example, Mauricio Martínez García, the gunman behind 2023 mass shooting The Allen, Texas, man, in addition to having a neo-Nazi tattoo, also had a “Deus Vult” tattoo, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The group also says the phrase is “commonly used as an anti-Muslim symbol.”
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment. “They're attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm. This is disgusting anti-Christian bigotry,” Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said in AP's hegseth Reshared Vance's post and commented, “They can target me – I don't care – but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans should be shut down on day one at DJT's DOD. Will go.”
The National Guard declined to comment on whether Hegseth was removed from the detail or why, and released a statement saying, “Major Peter Hegseth joined the DC Army National Guard on June 6, 2019, and remains a member of the DCNG as of March 31, 2021. He is in M-Day, Conventional Drilling Service Member, status and is available for duty as needed during the 2021 Presidential Inauguration.”
Contributed to this report.