By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – National Guard Sergeant DeRicko Gaither sent an alert on the evening of Jan. 14, 2021, about Pete Hegseth, who on Tuesday became President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense.
“This information is quite disturbing, sir,” he wrote to Major General William Walker, the commanding general of the Washington DC National Guard, who helped strengthen security in the US capital on the occasion of Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration on January 20.
Hegseth, Gaither wrote, had a troubling tattoo on his bicep with the inscription “Deus Vult.” An online search suggested to him that it was a Christian expression linked to right-wing extremism. ‘Deus Vult’ is a Latin expression meaning ‘God wills it’, a rallying cry for Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages.
Gaither included a photo of Hegseth, who was then and still is a Fox News host, shirtless, with another tattoo of the Jerusalem cross. That cross has a long history in Christianity, but has recently been co-opted by some far-right groups as a symbol of the struggle for Western civilization.
“This is consistent with an insider threat,” wrote Gaither, who is the Guard’s chief of physical security but is now retired from military service. He read his email to Reuters.
The email, which has not previously been reported, appears to have been a turning point for Hegseth, who has served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and has two Bronze Stars. In his book, Hegseth wrote that he was singled out as an extremist because of the Jerusalem Cross and was taken off guard duty in Washington.
He saw it as a rejection by an army that no longer wanted him.
“The feeling was mutual: I didn’t want this army anymore either,” Hegseth said in his book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”
The National Guard has not commented on Hegseth’s tattoos, his allegations that he was targeted because of his religious and political beliefs, or whether he was withdrawn from Guard duty in Washington. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters does not have a copy of the email and cannot independently confirm Gaither’s account.
But a second DC National Guard member at the time, who has since left the service, confirmed that Hegseth’s tattoos were the reason he was flagged for review, and that there were email exchanges about it within the organization.
Hegseth was not declared an extremist, this person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But in the aftermath of the January 6 riots, Guard leadership opted for caution.
Asked about the tattoos, Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, which combats far-right extremism, did not deny the concerns. But she warned against any snap judgment, saying these could only be signs of Hegseth’s Christian faith, even if they have been used by extremist groups.
“I think we have to take his word for it,” Beirich told Reuters.
Trump’s choice of Hegseth as defense secretary surprised Washington. Hegseth, who regularly appears in conservative media, has expressed disdain for the so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders, opposed women in combat roles and questioned whether America’s top general, who is black, was in his role because his skin color. colour.
If Hegseth is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he could make good on Trump’s campaign promises to rid the U.S. military of generals he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives oppose.
“STEEL AWAY”
How Hegseth became an “anti-woke” proponent is still emerging. But it is becoming increasingly clear that he came to a crossroads in January 2021.
Last month, Hegseth said in a podcast that he had received military orders to go to Washington DC for security of the inauguration, but that the day before he was supposed to report to the DC National Guard, he received a call from one of his commanders .
“Major, you can resign. We don’t need you. I’m fine,” Hegseth said he was told. He said he was told his orders had been revoked.
Hegseth said he was not told at the time why he was no longer needed, but as he was writing his latest book he contacted the individual.
“He said, 99.99% I know why you… were told not to report, because I saw the emails and I was at the meetings, someone has a Jerusalem cross tattoo that you have on your chest … identified as an extremist tattoo and so you were described as a possible extremist, specifically white nationalist.”
“Was it because of the tattoo, probably not. Was it because I worked for Fox, I don’t know. Was it because I support Donald Trump, I don’t know. These are all unacceptable reasons,” Hegseth wrote.
“That was the moment I said: I’m done.”
Hegseth wasn’t the only person to be kicked out on Inauguration Day four years ago. On January 19, 2021, a day before Biden’s inauguration, Pentagon officials told reporters that a dozen National Guard members had been removed from duty after a vetting that included screening for possible ties to right-wing extremism.
A Pentagon spokesperson said at the time that the investigation went beyond ties to extremist groups. One Guard member was removed from duty after disturbing text messages and another member was reported to a tip line.
Officials did not name any of these individuals and it is not clear whether Hegseth was included in these figures.
Gaither, who was tipped off to Hegseth by a former Guard member, said he stands by his decision to flag him because of the tattoos. His job was to ensure the security of the force and he sent the information to his chain of command for a decision.
“I’m not shying away from it at all,” Gaither said. “I did what I had to do as a leader, and I sent it forward.”
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell)
