Pete Hegseth, the pending nominee from President-Elect Donald Trump to serve as Defense Secretary, criticized media reports centered around his Christian tattoos and vowed to defend other Christian service members who have recently faced discrimination from the Pentagon.
Trump announced plans to nominate the Army combat veteran, former executive director of Concerned Veterans for America, and weekend cohost of Fox and Friends last week to lead the Department of Defense. Hegseth and his Christian views were immediately scrutinized by the media, including through one report in which the Associated Press noted that he was flagged as an “insider threat” by a fellow Army National Guard officer because of his Christian tattoos.
Hegseth has a tattoo on his arm reading “Deus Vult,” which is Latin for “God Wills It,” as well as a Jerusalem Cross tattoo on his chest, along with American symbolism such as the “Join or Die” political cartoon and the phrase “We the People.” The report from the Associated Press claimed that the phrase “Deus Vult,” which originated during the Crusades, is “associated with white supremacists” as they referenced the past complaint from the Army National Guard officer.
Vice President-Elect JD Vance then defended Hegseth on social media, contending that the Associated Press was engaged in “disgusting anti-Christian bigotry.” Hegseth concurred with Vance that the report was “anti-Christian bigotry in the media on full display,” promising that such discrimination against conservative Christians from the Pentagon would cease under Trump.
“They can target me, I don’t give a damn, but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots, and everyday Americans will stop,” Hegseth said in response to Vance on social media.
The Sentinel has exclusively reported on several instances of discrimination against Christian veterans and service members from the Department of Defense. Navy officials are currently accusing Bradley Geary, the officer who commanded the famously rigorous Hell Week program responsible for training Navy SEALs, of causing the death of a trainee determined to be using steroids, and are claiming that Michael Cassidy, the conservative Christian veteran who tore down a Satanic altar in the Iowa State Capitol, was involved in “extremist activity.”
The Sentinel also produced a documentary called SEALs Beat Biden which featured the accounts of several Christian service members who faced sanctions from the Pentagon after they declined to comply with vaccine mandates either for religious or medical reasons.
Podcast host and former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan previously raised the case of Geary and other miscarriages of justice with Hegseth during an episode of the Shawn Ryan Show, in which Hegseth detailed reforms needed at the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Hegseth revealed to Ryan that he was flagged as an “insider threat” after a District of Columbia Army National Guard staffer scoured his social media and found the tattoos.
Many have speculated about the likelihood of the Senate successfully confirming Hegseth because of his status as an outsider. Others have raised concerns about the fact that Hegseth has been married three times, yet his pastor, Brooks Potteiger of Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship in Tennessee, said on social media that Hegseth is a “member in good standing.” The pending nomination has also been featured positively by the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, the denomination with which Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship is affiliated.
The appointment of Hegseth comes as the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and the spread of leftist ideology in core military institutions contribute to declining recruitment. Hegseth has emphasized addressing the recruitment crisis by removing such ideology from the Pentagon.
