Fellow National Guardsman told superiors Hegseth might be “insider threat” before Biden inauguration

A man who in 2021 was a member of the same National Guard unit as Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be defense secretary, confirmed he sent a letter to his superiors warning that a tattoo Hegseth bears indicated that he was a potential “insider threat” ahead of President Biden’s inauguration.

The Associated Press reported that 12 U.S. National Guard members were removed from helping to secure Mr. Biden’s 2021 inauguration after vetting by the U.S. military and FBI. They were found to have made extremist statements in posts or text messages or had ties with right-wing militia groups. In an interview with podcaster Shawn Ryan, Hegseth said he was one of the National Guard members removed from securing the inauguration.

“I was deemed an extremist because of a tattoo by my National Guard unit in Washington, D.C., and my orders were revoked to guard the Biden inauguration… a Jerusalem cross tattoo which is just a Christian symbol,” he told Ryan.

But that’s not the tattoo that his fellow guardsman, DeRicko Gaither, pointed out to his superiors. He told CBS News, “When I looked at the pictures – in one he had the tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross, which I didn’t think was a problem.” 

“The next photo he had on his inner bicep he had a bicep that said ‘Deux Vult,'” Gaither said. “I looked it up, and that tattoo had ties to extremist groups. So, I sent to my leadership. I included the photo attachment and the Army policy about tattoos. I said I just want you to know what’s going on. I received a response saying Pete had been removed from the mission.”

He said in his letter, which CBS News obtained, “White-Supremacist use of #Deus Vult and a return to medieval Catholicism, is to invoke the myth of a white Christian (i.e. Catholic) medieval past that wishes to ignore the actual demographics and theological state of Catholicism today.”

He added, “Deus Vult has enjoyed popularity with members of the alt-right because of its perceived representation of the clash of civilizations between the Christian west and the Islamic world.”

Citing a military statute that bans extremist tattoos, Gaither said the Deus Vult tattoo “falls along the line of Insider Threat.” The Associated Press and Reuters first reported on Gaither’s warning letter to the National Guard.

“Deus Vult” is the Christian motto that refers to divine providence. It originated as the rallying cry of the Crusaders. But experts in domestic violent extremism say the latin phrase has also been co-opted by some members of the far right in recent years. 

For example, Mauricio Martinez Garcia, the gunman behind the 2023 mass shooting in Allen, Texas, had a “Deus Vult” tattoo, according to the Anti-Defamation League, in addition to neo-Nazi tattoos. The group also says the phrase is “commonly used as an anti-Muslim symbol.” 

The Trump transition team has not responded to a request for comment. Vice President-elect JD Vance said on X of the AP’s story, “They’re attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm. This is disgusting anti-Christian bigotry.” Hegseth reshared Vance’s post and commented, “They can target me — I don’t give a damn — but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT’s DoD.”

The National Guard declined to comment on whether Hegseth had been removed from the detail or why, and issued a statement that just said, “Maj. Peter Hegseth joined the D.C. Army National Guard on June 6, 2019, and remained a member of the DCNG until March 31, 2021. He was in an M-Day, traditional drilling service member, status and available for duty if required during the presidential inauguration of 2021.”

Olivia Rinaldi

contributed to this report.