Pete Hegseth Labeled Possible ‘Insider Threat’ by Army Guardsman

Fox News host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, was reportedly accused of being an “insider threat” while serving in the Army National Guard.

Hegseth, facing heavy criticism for being “unqualified” to lead the Department of Defense since being picked by Trump earlier this week, has already been accused of being an “extremist” and “white supremacist” due to his tattoo of a Jerusalem Cross, a Christian symbol commonly used during the Crusades.

In January 2021, Hegseth was ordered to stand down from guarding President Joe Biden’s inauguration over the tattoo. He insisted that he had been unfairly singled out and that the tattoo did not represent extremism. However, some right-wing nationalist groups have adopted images and phrases associated with the Crusades in recent years.

On Friday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that a fellow National Guard member flagged Hegseth as a potential threat over a different tattoo one week before the inauguration. Hegseth also has a tattoo featuring the Crusades-era term “Deus Vult.” The Latin phrase translates to “God wills it” and has been associated with right-wing extremism over the past decade.

Hegseth was flagged as a threat by retired Master Sergeant DeRicko Gaither, who was serving as the physical security manager for the D.C. National Guard in January 2021. Gaither emailed Guard commanders to inform them that he had been alerted to the tattoo by a former member and found the phrase to be “disturbing” after researching the matter.

“This falls along the line of Insider Threat and this is what we as members of the U.S. Army, District of Columbia National Guard and the Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Team strive to prevent,” Gaither wrote to the commanders, according to a copy of the email published by AP.

In an interview with the AP on Friday, Gaither said that he asked the commanders to “look at” the “Deus Vult” tattoo and later received an email informing him that Hegseth had been “told to stay away” from the inauguration.

Trump Communications Director Steven Cheung described the AP report and other criticisms of Hegseth as “left-wing media concocted falsehoods” in an email to Newsweek on Friday night.

“President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration,” Cheung wrote. “Mr. Hegseth has the necessary experience and qualifications to implement President Trump’s pro-America policies, and none of these left-wing media concocted falsehoods will work to stop that mission.”

“We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again,” he added.

Vice President-elect JD Vance accused the AP of promoting “disgusting anti-Christian bigotry” by pointing out that “Deus Vult” has been used by right-wing Christian extremists in recent years.

“They’re attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm,” Vance wrote while sharing a link to the AP article on X, formerly Twitter. “This is disgusting anti-Christian bigotry from the AP, and the entire organization should be ashamed of itself.”

Hegseth echoed the claim that he had been a victim of “bigotry” against Christians while praising Vance’s post a short time later.

“Amen @JDVance. Anti-Christian bigotry in the media on full display,” wrote Hegseth. “They can target me — I don’t give a damn — but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT’s DoD.”

Update 11/15/24, 11:02 p.m.: This article has been updated with further context.