Trump defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth was flagged as potential military 'insider threat' because of 'Deus Vult' tattoo

The National Guardsman who in 2021 pegged Pete Hegseth as a potential "insider threat" clarified in an interview with ABC News that his complaint targeted a "Deus Vult" tattoo on the former Fox News host's arm -- not a cross on his chest, as Hegseth has repeatedly claimed.

President-elect Donald Trump last week tapped Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense. He listed Hegseth's experience as a veteran and his media experience as his reasons for the choice.

As Reuters and The Associated Press first reported, Sgt. DeRicko Gaither sent an image of the "Deus Vult" tattoo to Maj. Gen. William Walker shortly before President Joe Biden's inauguration. The phrase, which translates from Latin to "God wills it," has been co-opted by white nationalist groups, experts have said.

"This information is quite disturbing, sir," Gaither wrote in the email to Walker, who has not responded to ABC News' request for comment. "This falls along the lines of (an) Insider Threat."

Hegseth claimed in his book "The War on Warriors" that his "orders were revoked" ahead of Biden's inauguration because fellow service members had flagged a tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross on his chest as a white nationalist symbol. As a result, Hegseth wrote, he resigned from the military.

But Gaither clarified in a text message to ABC News that his complaint targeted the "Deus Vult" tattoo, despite "the narrative that has been out there."

"Just so we are clear. This has NOTHING to do with the Jerusalem Cross tattoo on his chest," Gaither wrote in the text. "This has everything to do with the 'DEUS VULT' Tattoo on his inner bicep."

Gaither’s sensitivity to what he described as the "disturbing" imagery in Hegseth's tattoos came at a time when the military was grappling with the fact that dozens of active and former service members had participated in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Gaither, who confirmed to ABC News the contents of his complaint -- which he wrote just one week after Jan. 6, emphasized that "this wasn't then and isn't now a personal attack towards Pete Hegseth."

"The information received and [the] email sent on January 14th was the protocol that had to be followed because of the position assignment that I was assigned to," explained Gaither, who was at the time assigned as the Guards' head of security. "The protocol was followed and would be followed again if this issue involved any other service member, myself included."

As ABC News has reported, Hegseth fired back at the initial coverage of this matter in The Associated Press by claiming it was "Anti-Christian bigotry."

"They can target me — I don’t give a damn — but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT's DoD," Hegseth wrote on X.