Trump's Pentagon pick Hegseth had been flagged as possible 'Insider Threat'

National Guard Master Sergeant DeRicko Gaither sent up a warning on the evening of January 14, 2021, about Pete Hegseth, who on Tuesday became President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defence secretary.

"This information is quite disturbing, sir," he wrote to Major General William Walker, the commanding general of the Washington, DC, National Guard, who was helping bolster security in the US capital for Joe Biden's presidential inauguration on January 20.

Hegseth, Gaither wrote, had a worrying tattoo on his bicep with the inscription "Deus Vult." A search online suggested to him it was a Christian expression associated with far-right Christian extremism. "Deus Vult" is a Latin phrase meaning "God Wills It," a rallying cry for medieval Christian barbarians.

Gaither included a photo of Hegseth, who was then a Fox News host, shirtless, showing another tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross. That cross has a long history in Christianity but has lately been co-opted by some far-right groups as a symbol of the fight for Western civilisation.

"This falls along the lines of (an) Insider Threat," wrote Gaither, who was the Guard's head of physical security but is now retired from military service. Reuters news agency has obtained a copy of the email.

The email, which has not been previously reported, appears to have been a turning point for Hegseth, who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and has two Bronze Stars. In his book, Hegseth wrote that he was singled out over the Jerusalem Cross as an extremist, and pulled from Guard duty in Washington.

He saw it as a rejection by a military that didn't want him anymore.

"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."

Hegseth needs Senate confirmation for next moves

The National Guard has not commented on Hegseth's tattoos, his allegations of being targeted for his religious and political beliefs, or whether he was withdrawn from Guard duty in Washington. Trump's transition team did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

But a second member of the DC National Guard at the time, who has since left the service, confirmed Hegseth's tattoos were the reason he was flagged for review, and that there were email exchanges within the organization about them.

Hegseth was not declared an extremist, this person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But in the wake of the January 6 riots Guard leadership opted to err on the side of caution.

Gaither, who was tipped off to Hegseth by a former member of the Guard, said he stands by his decision to flag him for the tattoos. His job was to ensure the safety of the force and he sent the information up his chain of command for a decision.

"I'm not backing down from it at all," Gaither said. "I did what I was supposed to do as a leader, and I sent it forward."

Trump's pick of Hegseth to become defence secretary caught Washington by surprise. Hegseth, who appears frequently on conservative media, has expressed disdain for so-called "woke" policies of Pentagon leaders, and questioned whether the top American general, who is Black, was in his role because of his skin color.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Hegseth could make good on Trump's campaign promises to rid the US military of generals that conservatives have railed against.