WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Pete Hegseth, the Army National Guard veteran and Fox 撸奶社区 host , was flagged as a possible 鈥淚nsider Threat鈥� by a fellow service member due to a tattoo on his bicep that's associated with white supremacist groups.
Hegseth, who has downplayed the role of military members and veterans in the and railed against the Pentagon鈥檚 subsequent efforts to address extremism in the ranks, has said he was pulled by his District of Columbia National Guard unit from guarding Joe Biden鈥檚 January 2021 inauguration. He's said he was unfairly identified as an extremist due to a cross tattoo on his chest.
This week, however, a fellow Guard member who was the unit鈥檚 security manager and on an anti-terrorism team at the time, shared with The Associated Press he sent to the unit鈥檚 leadership flagging a different tattoo reading 鈥淒eus Vult鈥� that鈥檚 been used by white supremacists, concerned it was an indication of an 鈥淚nsider Threat.鈥�
If Hegseth assumes office, it would mean that someone who has said it's a sham that extremism is a problem in the military would oversee a sprawling department whose leadership reacted with alarm when steps on Jan. 6 in military-style stack formation. He's also shown support for members of the military accused of war crimes and criticized the military's justice system.
Hegseth and the Trump transition team did not respond to emails seeking comment.
As the AP reported in , more than 480 people with a military background were accused of ideologically driven extremist crimes from 2017 through 2023, including the more than 230 arrested in connection with the according to data collected and analyzed by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, at the University of Maryland. Though those numbers reflect a small fraction of those who have served honorably in the military 鈥� and Lloyd Austin, the current defense secretary, has said that extremism is not widespread in the U.S. military 鈥� AP's investigation found that plots involving people with military backgrounds were more likely to involve mass casualties.
鈥楶eople who love our country鈥�
Since Jan. 6, Hegseth, like many Trump supporters, has minimized both the riot's seriousness and the role of people with military training. Amid the widespread condemnation the day after the assault, Hegseth took a different approach. On a panel on Fox 撸奶社区, Hegseth portrayed the crowd as patriots, saying they 鈥渓ove freedom鈥� and were 鈥減eople who love our country鈥� who had 鈥渂een re-awoken to the reality of what the left has done鈥� to their country.
Of the 14 people convicted in the Capitol attack of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge resulting from Jan. 6, eight previously served in the military. While the majority of those with military backgrounds arrested after Jan. 6 were no longer serving, more than 20 were in the military at the time of the attack, according to START.
Hegseth wrote in his book 鈥淭he War on Warriors,鈥� published earlier this year, that just 鈥渁 few鈥� or 鈥渁 handful鈥� of active-duty soldiers and reservists had been at the Capitol that day. He did not address the hundreds of military veterans who were arrested and charged.
Hegseth has argued the Pentagon overreacted by taking steps to address extremism, and has taken leadership to task for the military's efforts to remove people it deemed white supremacists and violent extremists from the ranks. Hegseth has written that the problem is 鈥渇ake鈥� and 鈥渕anufactured鈥� and characterized it as 鈥減eddling the lie of racism in the military.鈥� He said efforts to root extremism out had pushed 鈥渞ank-and-file patriots out of their formations.鈥�
鈥淎merica is less safe, and our generals simply do not care about the oath that they swore to uphold. The generals are too busy assessing how domestic 鈥榚xtremists鈥� wearing Carhartt jackets will usurp our 鈥榙emocracy鈥� with gate barriers or flagpoles,鈥� he wrote in 鈥淭he War on Warriors.鈥�
In a segment on Fox 撸奶社区 last year about , a Navy veteran known as the 鈥淨Anon Shaman鈥� who walked through the Capitol while wearing a horned fur hat, Hegseth played a misleading video clip from his then-colleague Tucker Carlson that sought to portray Chansley as a passive sightseer.
In fact, Chansley was among the first rioters to enter the building and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding in 2021. Chansley acknowledged using a bullhorn to rile up the mob, offering thanks in a prayer while in the Senate chamber for having the chance to get rid of traitors and writing a threatening note to Vice President Mike Pence saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!鈥�
In a message on Facebook Hegseth posted with an excerpt of the video, he wrote the way Chansley had been treated by the justice system 鈥渋s disgusting.鈥�
鈥淭rump, Chansley, and many more... the Left wants us all locked up,鈥� Hegseth wrote.
Support for convicted war criminals
Hegseth served for almost 20 years and deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. He has two Bronze Stars. In speaking about his service and advocating for other service members and veterans, he has taken actions to support convicted war criminals and recently said he had told his platoon they could ignore directives limiting when they can shoot.
In a podcast interview released earlier this month, Hegseth described getting a briefing from a military lawyer in 2005 in Baghdad on the rules of engagement. Hegseth said the lawyer told them they could not shoot someone carrying a rocket-propelled grenade unless it was pointed at them.
鈥淚 remember walking out of that briefing, pulling my platoon together and being like, 鈥楪uys we鈥檙e not doing that. You know, like if you see an enemy and they, you know, engage before he鈥檚 able to point his weapon at you and shoot, we鈥檙e going to have your back,鈥欌�� Hegseth said.
鈥淎ll they do is take one incident and yell 鈥榳ar criminal,鈥欌�� he said, referring to The New York Times, the left and Democrats, adding, 鈥淲hy wouldn鈥檛 we back these guys up even if they weren鈥檛 perfect?鈥�
He said he was proud of his role in securing pardons from Trump in 2019 for a former U.S. Army commando set to stand trial in the killing of a suspected Afghan bomb-maker, as well as a former Army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire upon three Afghans, killing two. At Hegseth鈥檚 urging, Trump also ordered a promotion for , a Navy SEAL convicted of posing with a dead Islamic State captive in Iraq.
Biden's inauguration
Hegseth has complained that he himself was labeled an extremist by the D.C. National Guard and said he was prevented from serving during Biden鈥檚 inauguration, a few weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, because of a cross tattoo on his chest. He said he decided to end his military service shortly after that in disgust.
But a fellow Guard member who was working as a security officer ahead of the inauguration gave AP an email he sent that showed him raising concerns about a different tattoo.
Retired Master Sgt. DeRicko Gaither, who was serving as the D.C. Army National Guard鈥檚 physical security manager and on its anti-terrorism force protection team in January 2021, told the AP that he received an email from a former D.C. Guard member that included a screenshot of a social media post that included two photos showing several of Hegseth鈥檚 tattoos.
Gaither told AP he researched the tattoos 鈥� including one of a Jerusalem Cross and the context of the words 鈥� and determined they had sufficient connection to extremist groups to elevate the email to his commanding officers.
Several of Hegseth鈥檚 tattoos are associated with an expression of religious faith, according to Heidi Beirich of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, but they have also been adopted by some far right groups and violent extremists. Their meaning depends on context, she said.
Former Navy intelligence officer Travis Akers was the person who initially saw the photos on a group chat, then researched them and decided to post the photos to social media. Those images were then seen by the former member of the D.C. National Guard, who sent them in an anonymous email to Gaither.
鈥淚t was just quite concerning to see that on a service member鈥檚 body, but even more concerning now that a person who chose to bear those symbols is being nominated to lead the most powerful, nuclear military in the world," Akers told the AP in a phone interview Friday.
Some extremists invoke their association with the Christian crusades to express anti-Muslim sentiment. The notes that in 2023 the words were in the notebooks of the Allen, Texas, shooter Mauricio Garcia. Anders Breivik, a right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in 2011, had similar markings in his manifesto.
In an email Gaither sent on Jan. 14, 2021, which he provided to the AP, he raised concerns about Hegseth, a major at the time, and mentioned only the 鈥淒eus Vult鈥� tattoo. In the email addressed to then-Maj. Gen. William Walker, who was commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, Gauther raised concern that the phrase was associated with white supremacists who invoke the idea of a white Christian medieval past as well as the Christian crusades.
鈥淢G Walker, Sir, with the information provided 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,鈥� Gaither wrote.
鈥淚 said, 鈥檡ou guys need to take a look at this,'鈥� Gaither said in a phone interview with the AP on Thursday. 鈥淚 later received an email that he was told to stay away.鈥�
Biden鈥檚 inauguration took place just two weeks after the insurrection, and the Army was taking no chances. More than 25,000 Guard members were pouring into the city and each was going through additional vetting, depending on how close they were going to be to Biden.
A total of 12 National Guard members were told to stay home, former Pentagon press secretary Jonathan Hoffman told reporters in a briefing At least two were flagged due to potential extremism concerns; the rest were due to other background check issues that were identified as concerning by either the Army, FBI or Secret Service. It was not clear whether Hegseth was among the 12 Hoffman referenced at the time.
Hegseth has also speculated in podcast interviews that he was asked to stand down because of his political views, his role as a journalist covering Jan. 6 or because he works for Fox 撸奶社区.
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Smith reported from Providence, R.I., and Dearen reported from Los Angeles.
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Contact AP鈥檚 global investigative team at [email protected]
Tara Copp, Michelle R. Smith And Jason Dearen, The Associated Press
