The Fox News host who President-elect Donald Trump just announced will be his nominee for secretary of defense was not allowed to work security at President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration; this was due to an alleged tattoo that military brass believed might be an extremist symbol. .

Accordingly PeterhegsethThe “Fox & Friends Weekend” host and potential future defense secretary’s tattoo was a large Jerusalem cross on his chest. The Jerusalem cross emerged with the Christian Crusades nearly a thousand years ago. Nowadays it can be a simple display of Christian beliefs or, in some cases, a symbol of the conquest and domination of Muslims or non-white minorities.

“I was deemed an extremist because of a tattoo done by my National Guard unit in Washington, D.C.,” Hegseth said. in question on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast this summer. “And my orders to protect Biden’s inauguration have been rescinded. The Jerusalem cross tattoo, it’s just a Christian symbol… (that’s) what’s keeping me from the invitation.”

In 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as an Army National Guard infantry officer. He served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ultimately reaching the rank of major.

But Hegseth is a surprising choice to lead the largest military bureaucracy in human history for several reasons. claim that women should not serve in combat missions; his successfullobbying First to receive amnesty during the Trump administration prisoner And Alleged war criminals; his Definition one against “radical Islamist ideology” and the other a “war on two fronts”internal enemies” i.e. “Left”; his opposition so-called “infection” leftist policies in the army; And his claimfew years ago “The Iraq War is an example of what America does right when we get it right.”

“Just like the Christian crusaders who drove back Muslim hordes in the twelfth century, American Crusaders will need to muster the same courage against Islamists today,” Hegseth wrote in his 2020 book “American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free.” Liberal watchdog group Media Matters marked on tuesday. In the same book, he reiterated the white nationalist “Great Change” conspiracy theory, stating that “American leftists insist on pursuing the same policies that led to the cultural invasion of Europe by “Islamists.”

“Muhammad is currently among the top ten most popular boys’ names in America; what will happen in 2030?” Hegseth wrote.

Regarding Biden’s inauguration, Hegseth told Ryan that while he was working on his latest book, he reached out to someone in his unit who could “verify the story with 99.9% certainty.” He said he was told, “Someone from the D.C. Guard trolled your social media, found a tattoo, used that as an excuse to call you a white nationalist, an extremist, and your orders were rescinded with your name specifically to protect the inauguration.” because you were seen as a potential threat.”

“I joined the military because I wanted to serve my country. On 9/11, extremism attacked us and we went to war.” hegsethwrote “And in 2021, I was deemed an ‘extremist’ by the same Army,” he adds in his 2024 book, “War Against the Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”

owned by Hegseth pointed He described the incident as an example of “political” and “partisan” decision-making. He said his tattoo was a “Christian tattoo” and not an “extremist” symbol.

“Ultimately, members of my unit in leadership recognized that I was an extremist or white nationalist because of my tattoo, which was a religious tattoo,” he said. in question separately in a Fox News interview. “This is a Jerusalem cross. “Anyone can investigate, but this was used as justification to revoke my inauguration protection orders.”

Hegseth also has a tattoo that reads “Deus vult” or “God wills”, which he has confirmed is a reference to the Crusades.

“I have Deus Vult – God Willing – on my biceps, the cry of the Crusaders,” he said. said sports news site The Big Lead in 2020.

Phrases such as “Deus vult”, as well as depictions of the Jerusalem cross, have become more common in recent years as symbols of right-wing beliefs, and sometimes far-right beliefs. For example, Donald Trump Jr. he once modeled an assault riflecustomized Jerusalem cross and a picture of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton behind bars. In 2020, a Delaware man firebombed a Planned Parenthood facility after writing “Deus vult” on the building’s exterior. A man with a gun in 2023 committed mass murder A mall in the Dallas area had both a “Deus vult” and a swastika tattooand also Nazi SS bolts and other signs of extreme beliefs.

Jim LaPorta, an investigative journalist who covers the military, confirmed aspects of Hegseth’s inauguration story years ago. LaPorta and others just days after Biden’s inauguration Reported in Associated Press It was stated that 12 National Guard members were removed from the initial security plan “after review by the FBI.” “Two other U.S. officials told The Associated Press that all 12 had ties to right-wing militia groups or had posted extremist views online,” LaPorta reported. The news also stated that the people were suspended due to “security obligations”.

Although two of the 12 affected soldiers were sent home for “inappropriate comments or messages related to the inauguration,” the other 10 were sent home “for other potential issues that could include prior criminal behavior or other activities,” the AP reported. “It was not directly related to the launch event.”

“Several years ago, I received news that the Pentagon later confirmed that 12 U.S. National Guard members had been removed from securing the inauguration of then-President-elect Joe Biden after a security review.” LaPorta wrote Last week on X, formerly Twitter. “One of them turned out to be @PeteHegseth”

The Pentagon said at the time that it did not ask follow-up questions about anyone flagged by law enforcement, merely removing them from the security plan for the day.

“If our law enforcement partners flag an individual based on their determination that they saw something and they relay that to us, we don’t even ask what the flag is, we just raise it,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said. in question In that case.

Spokesmen for the Minnesota Army National Guard, with whom Hegseth was deployed abroad, He did not respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment, and neither did representatives of the District of Columbia Army National Guard, which provided security for the inauguration. Trump’s transition team and the speakers bureau representing Hegseth also did not respond to requests for comment. A Pentagon spokesperson referred HuffPost to the Army’s public affairs office, which did not respond.

It’s possible Hegseth may be the victim of an overly broad scrutiny before Biden’s inauguration. But context is very important.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, images of the Crusades have become increasingly common on the far right.

as Washington Post columnist Ishaan Tharoor observed In 2016, “‘Deus Vult’ — or ‘God wills it’ or ‘It is God’s will’ — became a sort of far-right code word, a proliferating hashtag around alt-right social media, and graffiti scrawled in public institutions.”

NPR reported in 2017 On historians’ outrage over the appropriation of Crusader crosses and other medieval imagery by white nationalists. Crusader images seen At a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, together The attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

“Deus vult” was also used alongside swastikas and other racist imagery by mosque vandals. Accordingly KnowYourMeme.comIt can be seen as the Christian equivalent of the phrase “Allahu akbar” or “God is great”, a website cataloging popular usages on the Internet says.

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