Hegseth is among several controversial Cabinet picks from President-elect Donald Trump.
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.
