Vice President-elect J.D. Vance lashed out at The Associated Press after the news organization reported that a fellow service member reported Donald Trump's pick for Pentagon chief as a possible ‘Insider Threat."
Pete Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran and Fox News host, was nominated this week to lead the Department of Defense. Trump's nominee was met with fierce criticism over concerns Hegseth was not qualified for the role.
The AP reported Friday afternoon that he was also flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member due to tattoos he has that have been used by white supremacist groups.
Hegseth has a tattoo of a Jerusalem Cross on his chest and the words “Deus Vult,” which is Latin for “God wills it,” on his bicep. A fellow Guard member who served as the unit’s security manager and was on an anti-terrorism team at the time, told the unit’s leadership in an email that the bicep tattoo has been used by white supremacists — and was concerned he could be an “Insider Threat.”
The email called the information "quiet (sic) disturbing."
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"The phrase 'Deus Vult' is associated with Supremacist groups in which White-Supremacist use of #DeusVult 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," the email said.
AP reported that Hegseth has said he was unfairly identified as an extremist due to his chest tattoo. He didn't respond to the organization's request for comment about the email, which flagged his bicep tattoo.
Vance on Friday evening blasted the AP over its report.
"They're attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm," wrote Vance on X. "This is disgusting anti-Christian bigotry from the AP, and the entire organization should be ashamed of itself."
Hegseth's nomination is also reportedly up in the air after revelations he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 in California in an incident that left the victim with thigh bruises. He has maintained the encounter was consensual and no charges were filed.
