Pete Hegseth is mad.
The former weekend Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran who President-elect Donald Trump tapped to lead the Department of Defense has made blasting the states of the American educational system and armed forces a cornerstone of his brand. And one of the things that has him most worked up is measures that the military’s leadership have taken in recent years to weed out far-right extremists from their ranks.
In a bestselling book and in a Fox special earlier this year, Hegseth aired his critique of security measures designed to keep “patriot extremism” — a term for militia-linked ideology — out of the military. He has also shared his story of personally being dubbed an “extremist” by the Pentagon due to the ink on his body.
“I have a Christian tattoo on my chest, which is part of the reason why I was — orders were revoked from my unit and I was pushed out of my unit,” Hegseth said during “The War on Warriors” live show that aired on May 10. “There’s new concepts like ‘patriot extremism,’ which is a part of how they review the profile of people serving. So, there are real insidious aspects of what’s happening inside the Pentagon.”
Hegseth was referring to steps the Department of Defense has taken to address the threat posed by far-right militia members and white supremacists in the armed forces. He went on to attribute this to supposedly left-wing elements in military leadership.
“A lot of ideological people with too much time … staring down at a meritocracy that they don’t control,” Hegseth said in the Fox live show. “You know the left, they don’t like things they can’t control. And they look at the DoD and they say that ‘this is something we need to bring to heel.’”
The Fox special, “The War on Warriors,” promoted Hegseth’s book of the same name, which was published in June. In his book, Hegseth made even clearer his objection to the Pentagon’s steps to remove “patriot” extremists from the military — and contended that he had been among those caught up in the crackdown.
Hegseth’s central thesis is that liberal concepts have taken over today’s military. This, he explains, includes the concerns about right-wing extremists in the ranks.
“The shoehorning of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Critical Race Theory (CRT), feminism, genderism, safetyism, climate worship, manufactured ‘violent extremism,’ straight up weirdo shit, and a grab bag of social justice causes that infect today’s fighting force have nothing to do with making our military more capable,” Hegseth wrote in “The War on Warriors.”
In the book, Hegseth specifically cited a military stand-down to “address extremism in the ranks” that was ordered by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in February 2021. A DoD news bulletin announcing that decision noted it came after the revelation that “extremists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 were active duty service members and others were military veterans.” A substantial number of the people charged in conjunction with that attack had ties to the armed forces. Hegseth also pointed to Pentagon training materials that were leaked in 2021 which outline the “domestic extremist ideologies posing the greatest risk to the DoD.”
While the documents cited by Hegseth noted other groups, they focused on three different types of radical movements as the most serious threat to the armed forces: “‘patriot/militia’ extremism,” “anarchist extremism,” and “ethnic racial supremacy.” These training materials, which were obtained and published by Politico, included information about “risk factors” and “symbols” to help commanders, who have wide leeway to address these issues within their ranks, to identify members of these groups.
The 17-page briefing that drew Hegseth’s ire described the “anarchist” movement as including left-wing groups like “antifa” and “Occupy.” Under the umbrella of “ethnic racial” extremism it focused on white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. Right-wing groups like the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers were included in the “patriot extremism” category.
“This ideology holds that the U.S. government has become corrupt, has overstepped its constitutional boundaries, or is no longer capable of protecting the people against foreign threats,” the briefing said of the “patriot” extremist philosophy, adding, “Some elements have openly formed militias and openly advocate for the violent overthrow of the current U.S. government.”
In his book, as he criticized these materials and other elements of the Pentagon’s crackdown, Hegseth specifically complained of the measures to eliminate white supremacists and “patriots.” He accused generals of “hunting for racists in our ranks that they know do not exist.”
“Not only does this document assert that extremism is rampant in the military, but it suggests a new form of extremism I’ve never heard of in the military called … Patriot Extremism,” Hegseth wrote. “If you want an effective military, your target recruiting constituency is … patriots. They’re not on your enemy list. Unless the purge is coming.”
These writings have made headlines since Trump tapped Hegseth to become secretary of defense on Nov. 12. Trump specifically touted “The War on Warriors” when he announced the pick. Since then, Hegseth has faced considerable controversy and sexual assault allegations.
Hegseth’s critique of the crackdown on right-wing extremists merits particular attention since, if he is confirmed, he would have the ability to change those policies. And, despite Hegseth’s contention that “patriot extremism” is made up and that there are no “racists” in the ranks there has been, in addition to the Jan. 6 attack, ample recent evidence that white supremacists and other far-right extremists have made inroads in the U.S. military.
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment about Hegseth’s seeming desire to eliminate efforts to weed out far-right extremists from the ranks. In his book and on-air statements, Hegseth only objected to the crackdown on right-wing groups. He did not describe his views on the Pentagon’s efforts to identify and address anarchists and other far-left extremists.
Overall, in his books and broadcasts, Hegseth made the case that the extremism crackdown was part of a broader problem of far-left ideology in the military that was turning off its “key constituency,” which he described as “normal dudes” and “straight, white men — who represent both the largest portion of the force and the largest drop in recruitment.”
“For the past three years, the Pentagon — across all branches — has embraced the social justice messages of gender equity, racial diversity, climate stupidity, vaccine worship, and the LGBTQA + alphabet soup in their recruiting pushes,” Hegseth wrote. “Only one problem: there just aren’t enough trannies from Brooklyn or lesbians from San Francisco who want to join the 82nd Airborne. Not only do the trannies and lesbians not join, but those very same ads turn off the young, patriotic, Christian men who have traditionally filled our ranks.”
The idea that liberal ideology poses a grave threat to the country has been a central part of Hegseth’s work. In the introduction to “The War On Warriors,” Hegseth noted the book was “closely tied” to his prior tome, “Battle For The American Mind,” which focused on the dangers of what he dubbed “progressive education.” These writings are an extension of the worldview Hegseth developed during his own college years, when he became drawn to hardline conservative politics and, specifically, concerns about the LGBT community and efforts to promote diversity.
Hegseth also wears his political and religious views on his skin. He is tattooed and, as he noted in “The War on Warriors” book and Fox special, that ink caused him to run afoul of his commanders. Ultimately, Hegseth said this incident inspired him to leave the Army. In the book and on air, Hegseth claimed the tattoo that caused the problem was a Jerusalem cross, a Crusader symbol, which, he said, got him flagged as “a white nationalist and an extremist.” However, earlier this month, the Associated Press uncovered an email from his National Guard units, which showed his fellow soldiers actually expressed concerns about another one of his tattoos. Specifically, they pointed to the phrase “Deus Vult,” which is a Latin phrase that is also associated with the medieval Crusaders and the concept of “God’s Will.” The email, which was written by the security manager of Hegseth’s unit, said the motto is linked to “members of the alt right,” has seen “White Supremacist use,” and appeared on “far-right internet pages.” Hegseth used the phrase as the closing sentence to one of his books.
“Deus Vult” isn’t Hegseth’s only tattoo that has associations with far-right extremism. He also has the roman numerals for the year “1775” on his bicep. As the moment Americans took up arms against the British, the date has had significance for a variety of far-right, modern militia groups. It is a particular fixation for “Three Percenters,” a loose coalition of militia groups who take their name from the historically dubious assertion that only three percent of colonists fought against the British. The late Mike Vanderboegh, a militia leader who was one of the founders of the Three Percenters, repeatedly referred to “1775” in his writings and described the first battle of the Revolution, Lexington and Concord, as the formation of the American militia. In “Absolved,” a book that was serialized on his blog, Vanderboegh referred to the date when he described a potential anti-government revolution.
“Both real sides in my imaginary civil war must be able to recognize the real threat to avoid the conflict,” Vanderbroegh wrote. “You may ask, which sides and what kind of conflict? On one side, just as in 1775, will be the Three Percent.”
In “The War on Warriors,” Hegseth referred to the same date as he railed against the supposed dangers of the “radical Left.”
“If our military, and our Republic, ever truly usurped my constitutional oath and bowed fully to the tyranny of the Left, then — to use a historical example — I would leave the British Army of 1775. I would stand and fight, and advise my kids to find a bridge in Lexington and Concord to stand their ground with me,” Hegseth wrote.
There have been multiple explanations for Hegseth’s “1775” tattoo. A New York Post article on his ink that was published earlier this month described it as “the year that Georgia joined the other twelve British colonies at the Second Continental Congress.”
TPM reached out to Hegseth on Wednesday to ask about the tattoo and his position on the Pentagon’s measures to address “patriot extremism” in the armed forces. He did not respond, however, on Wednesday evening, we received a text message from a person who would not tell us their name and asked to be quoted only as “an adviser to Pete Hegseth.” After we agreed to those conditions, they sent a terse text.
“1775 is the Army Birthday you ignorant jackass,” the “adviser” wrote.
We attempted to follow up to note that was not what the Post reported and to ask about Hegseth’s views on screening for extremist ideologies.
“All I have to say. Thank you,” the person wrote. “Have a good evening.”
Hegseth and his team apparently insist his tattoo has nothing to do with the far-right militia movement. However, in his book, the man who could go on to lead the Pentagon indicated he believes he is unquestionably someone who fits the armed forces’ current definition of an extremist “patriot.”
“Pushing for gender equality, today’s generals weaken unit readiness,” Hegseth wrote, adding, “Rooting out ‘extremism,’ today’s generals push rank-and-file patriots out of their formations (I’m one of them).”