What's the row over Trump's defence secretary pick Pete Hegseth's tattoo?

US President-elect Donald Trump picked Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defence.

The 44-year-old, who has served as the US Army National Guard, is covered in tattoos.

Days after his appointment, concerns have been raised over his inks that have their associations with extremist groups.

Here’s all we know about his many tattoos and the controversies associated with them.

‘Deus Vult’ tattoo

Hegseth’s bicep is inked with the phrase “Deus Vult,” which has been linked to white supremacist organisations.

The Latin phrase “Deus Vult” means “God Wills It.”

The far-right has made the phrase widespread as a rallying cry against the spread of Islam.

The Associated Press reported that the tattoo previously resulted in Hegseth being flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member. The report follows an email sent to the outlet from a fellow Guard member who was the unit’s security manager and on an anti-terrorism team at the time that proved concerns were in fact raised at the time about the bicep tattoo.

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The AP report has angered people on both sides, including JD Vance, the vice president-elect.

“They’re attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm,” Vance wrote on X. “This is disgusting anti-Christian bigotry from the AP, and the entire organization should be ashamed of itself.”

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Hegseth should not be considered for the job because of the mark, according to Olivia Troye, a former White House Homeland Security and counterterrorism adviser. “Pete Hegseth’s tattoos are the ones that white nationalists get,” she wrote.

“Federal law enforcement know these symbols well. Hegseth was banned from national guard duty at Biden’s inauguration for those tattoos. The Senate should consider this disqualifying for a nominee for Secretary of Defence…”

According to Hegseth, the “Deus Vult” phrase is also the last two words of his 2020 book American Crusade: Our Fight To Stay Free.

The tattoo is all the more controversial given Hegseth’s history of downplaying the role of military members and veterans in the January 6, 2021, attack and criticising the Pentagon’s subsequent efforts to address extremism in the ranks. He has also shown support for members of the military accused of war crimes and criticised the military’s justice system.

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Jerusalem Cross

The big Jerusalem Cross etched on his chest is perhaps his most well-known tattoo.

One large cross surrounded by four smaller crosses is the symbol, which dates back to the Crusades. Some far-right groups have recently adopted the sign as a symbol of the fight for Western civilisation.

The tattoo made headlines in 2020 when Hegseth was pulled by his District of Columbia National Guard unit from guarding Joe Biden’s January 2021 inauguration.

During a podcast interview, he claimed he was axed due to his Jerusalem Cross tattoo.

“I was deemed an extremist because of a tattoo – by my National Guard unit in Washington, DC,” Hegseth said on The Shawn Ryan Show podcast a few months ago. “And my orders were revoked to guard the Biden inauguration. Jerusalem cross tattoo, it’s just a Christian symbol… (that) is what got me disinvited.”

He said he decided to end his military service shortly after that in disgust.

An extremist?

Retired Master Sergeant DeRicko Gaither, who was serving as the DC Army National Guard’s physical security manager and on its anti-terrorism force protection team in January 2021, told AP that he researched the tattoos and determined they had sufficient connection to extremist groups to elevate the email to his commanding officers.

Several of Hegseth’s tattoos are associated with an expression of religious faith, according to Heidi Beirich of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, but they have also been adopted by some far-right groups and violent extremists. Their meaning depends on context, she said.

Former Navy intelligence officer Travis Akers, who initially saw the photos on a group chat, then researched them and decided to post the photos to social media told the outlet, “It was just quite concerning to see that on a service member’s body, but even more concerning now that a person who chose to bear those symbols is being nominated to lead the most powerful, nuclear military in the world."

Some extremists invoke their association with the Christian crusades to express anti-Muslim sentiment. The  Global Project Against Hate and Extremism notes that in 2023 the words were in the notebooks of the Allen, Texas, shooter Mauricio Garcia. Anders Breivik, a right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in 2011, had similar markings in his manifesto.

Surprise appointment

Hegeth was among Trump’s more unexpected nominations in a lineup for his Cabinet that also includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and controversial former congressman Matt Gaetz.

“Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” the president-elect said in a statement on Tuesday.  “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”

After working as a banker for Bear Stearns, Hegseth led advocacy groups for veterans and went on tours with the Army National Guard in Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

He began working for Fox News in 2014 and is one of the co-hosts of “Fox & Friends,” which has been known to show positive coverage of the Trump campaign.

With inputs from agencies