Pete Hegseth, the Army National Guard veteran and Fox News host nominated by Donald Trump to lead the Department of Defense, was flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member due to a tattoo on his bicep that’s associated with white supremacist groups.

Hegseth, who has downplayed the role of military members and veterans in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and railed against the Pentagon’s subsequent efforts to address extremism in the ranks, has said he was pulled by his District of Columbia National Guard unit from guarding Joe Biden’s January 2021 inauguration. He’s said he was unfairly identified as an extremist due to a cross tattoo on his chest.

This week, however, a fellow Guard member who was the unit’s security manager and on an anti-terrorism team at the time, shared with The Associated Press an email he sent to the unit’s leadership flagging a different tattoo reading “Deus Vult” that’s been used by white supremacists, concerned it was an indication of an “Insider Threat.”

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      33
      ·
      1 month ago

      This is not specifically referring to this dumbfuck being a potential foreign asset.

      Its referring to how his tattoos identify him as a possible domestic terrorist, or someone aligned with them.

      Its like how if a cop had someone in custody, they’d look at their tattoos for signs of gang affiliations.