Pete Hegseth was excluded from Biden’s inauguration because of his tattoos.

The Fox News host, who just announced that President-elect Donald Trump will be his nominee for Secretary of Defense, was unable to perform security duties at President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration ceremony. This is believed to be due to a tattoo that high-ranking military officials believed could be an extremist symbol. .

According to feet HegsettThe “Fox & Friends Weekend” host and potential future Secretary of Defense’s tattoo was a large Jerusalem cross on his chest. The Jerusalem Cross originated during the Christian Crusades nearly a thousand years ago. Nowadays it may be a simple sign of Christian faith, or in some circumstances it may symbolize conquest and domination of Muslims or non-white minorities.

“I was considered an extremist by the National Guard unit in Washington, D.C., because of my tattoos.” Hegseth said Appeared on ‘The Shawn Ryan Show’ podcast this summer. “And my order to observe Biden’s inauguration has been revoked. Jerusalem cross tattoo, it is just a christian symbol. (That’s) what kept me from being invited.”

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

But Hegseth was a surprising choice to lead the largest military bureaucracy in human history for several reasons: paradox Women should not participate in combat roles. his successful lobby First for pardon under Trump administration convicted and war crimes charges; his explanation “A war on two fronts” – one against “radical Islamic ideology” and the other against “radical Islamic ideology”“Domestic Enemy” i.e. “left”; His opposition is Presumed to be ‘infection’ the left-wing policies of the military; and his claim a few years ago “The Iraq War is an example of America doing the right thing when we did the right thing.”

“Like the Christian crusaders who pushed back Muslim hordes in the 12th century, American crusaders will have to have the same courage against Muslims today,” Hegseth wrote in his 2020 book “American Crusades: Our Fight for Freedom.” Liberal watchdog Media Matters Reported on Tuesday. In the same book, he echoed the white nationalist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, saying, “American leftists claim to be pursuing the same policies that led to the Islamist cultural invasion of Europe.”

“Muhammad is now a top 10 boy’s name in America. What will it be in 2030?” Hexes wrote.

Regarding Biden’s inauguration, Hegseth told Ryan that while working on his latest book, he reached out to someone within his department who could “verify (the story) with 99.9 percent certainty.” He said he was told that “someone within the D.C. Guard trolled your social media, discovered the tattoo and used that as an excuse to call you a white nationalist and an extremist, and specifically to have the order to guard the inauguration ceremony revoked in your name.” said. Because you were considered a potential threat.”

“I joined the military because I wanted to serve my country. “With 9/11, extremism attacked us and we went to war.” Hegsett wrote In his 2024 book, ‘War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of Those Who Set Us Free,’ he added: ‘And in 2021 I was deemed an ‘extremist’ by the very same military.”

Hegeses pointed This incident is considered an example of ‘political’ and ‘partisan’ decision-making. He said his tattoo was not an ‘extremist’ symbol but a ‘Christian tattoo’.

“Ultimately, my leadership unit considered me an extremist or a white nationalist because of the tattoos I had, religious tattoos.” said Separately in a Fox News interview. “This is the Jerusalem Cross. “Anyone can find it, but it was used as a premise for canceling the order to observe the inauguration ceremony,” he said.

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

“On my forearm is the crusader’s cry, Deus Vult (God Wills It),” he said. said 2020 sports news website The Big Lead.

Images containing the Jerusalem cross and phrases such as “Deus vult” have become more common as symbols of right-wing and sometimes far-right beliefs in recent years. For example, Donald Trump Jr. I once modeled an assault rifle. customized Behind the Jerusalem cross and prison is an image of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In 2020, a Delaware man set off a Molotov cocktail after writing “Deus vult” on the outside of a Planned Parenthood facility. 2023, gunslinger There was a mass shooting. Dallas area malls had both. “Deus vult” and swastika tattooand nazis SS bolt and other indicators of extreme beliefs.

Jim LaPorta, an investigative journalist who covers the military, confirmed some aspects of Hegseth’s inaugural story a few years ago. A few days after Biden’s inauguration, Laporta and others Reported in the Associated Press Twelve National Guard members were removed from the first security plan “after being investigated by the FBI.” Two other U.S. officials told The Associated Press that all 12 had ties to right-wing militias or had posted extremist views online, Laporta said. The story added that the individuals were removed due to “security responsibilities.”

According to the AP report, two of the 12 soldiers affected were sent home due to “inappropriate comments or texts related to the inauguration,” but the other 10 were sent home “due to other potential issues that could be related to prior criminal conduct or other activities.” “It is not directly related to the inauguration ceremony,” he said.

“A few years ago, I had a scoop that the Pentagon later confirmed was that 12 U.S. National Guard troops had been excluded from then-President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony.” Laporta wrote Last week on X (formerly Twitter). “Turns out one of them was @PeteHegseth.”

The Pentagon said at the time that it did not ask follow-up questions about anyone reported by law enforcement, but simply removed the person from security plans for that day.

“If our law enforcement partners flag an individual because they see something and pass it on to us, we don’t even ask what the flag is, we just remove it,” said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. He said. said thereabouts.

Minnesota Army National Guard Spokesperson with Hegseth overseas dispatch, There was no response to HuffPost’s request for comment, nor did a representative of the District of Columbia National Guard, which was responsible for providing security for the inauguration, respond. The Trump transition team and the speech bureau representing Hegseth also did not respond to requests for comment. A Pentagon spokesperson referred HuffPost to the Army bulletin but did not respond.

It’s possible that Hegseth was the victim of overly broad vetting ahead of Biden’s inauguration. But context is important.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, crusader imagery became more common among the far right.

Washington Post Columnist Ishaan Tharoor observed In 2016, “‘Deus Vult’ (or ‘the will of God’ or ‘will of God’) became a kind of far-right code word, used on alt-right social media and graffiti scrawled “In public institutions.”

NPR reported in 2017 About historians’ outrage over white nationalists’ appropriation of Crusader crosses and other medieval imagery. crusaders images It seemed At a neo-Nazi rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. furthermore Attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Deus vult” has been used along with swastikas and other racist images. by mosque vandals. According to KnowYourMeme.com“This phrase can be seen as synonymous with the Christian equivalent of Allahu akbar (God is great),” according to a website that provides a list of terms widely used on the Internet.