Tattooed for War: How Pete Hegseth's Extremist Ideology Is Sabotaging Ukraine
The Defense Secretary's bizarre body art predicted his chaotic leadership and pro-Putin policies
When Pete Hegseth was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Defense in January despite fierce opposition, critics warned that his extremist ideology (literally tattooed across his body) would undermine American security.
Six months later, those warnings have proven prophetic.
Hegseth's systematic freezing of weapons shipments to Ukraine without presidential approval, his apparent coordination with isolationist officials to undermine U.S. foreign policy, and the resulting chaos at the Pentagon all reflect the anti-democratic worldview encoded within his extensive tattoo collection.
This carefully curated ideological manifesto advocates for religious warfare and revolutionary resistance.
A Crusader's Manifesto Writ Flesh
The tattoos sprawled across Hegseth's chest, arm, and shoulder tell a coherent story that Senate Republicans are only now beginning to understand—and fear.
A massive Jerusalem Cross covering much of his chest:
Unlike typical pilgrim tattoos completed in 20 minutes, this enormous piece required "hours and hours" of work. The Jerusalem Cross, a large cross with four smaller crosses in each quadrant, was the symbol of medieval Crusades and has been adopted by white supremacist groups as a call for modern religious warfare.
"Deus Vult" in Gothic lettering on his right bicep:
Latin for "God Wills It," this was the war cry of medieval Crusaders. Hegseth proudly calls it "the cry of the Crusaders" and used it as the final words of his book "American Crusade." There is no peaceful interpretation of "Deus Vult." It has been explicitly adopted by white supremacist movements and appears in mass shooter manifestos targeting Muslims.
The militant theology: A cross pierced by a sword on his right forearm, referencing Matthew 10:34: "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." This imagery explicitly rejects peaceful Christianity in favor of weaponized faith.
The revolutionary symbolism: "1775" in Roman numerals (referencing Lexington and Concord), Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" snake, and "We the People" in colonial script. When combined, these Revolutionary War symbols suggest the current American government is illegitimate and armed resistance is justified. This is a core belief of anti-government militias.
The Islamophobic provocation: The Arabic word "كافر" (kafir) meaning "infidel" or "nonbeliever," added to his forearm in early 2024. While some military veterans have adopted this term as defiance against extremist groups, Hegseth's version represents something far more concerning—a deliberate religious and ethnic provocation from someone overseeing military operations in Muslim-majority regions.
The timing of this addition (during his potential nomination period) and its integration with his crusader imagery creates an explicitly anti-Islamic statement that transforms his tattoo collection from Christian nationalism into overt religious warfare symbolism.
This represents a Secretary of Defense literally branding himself with a term that signals hostility toward the 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide, including the thousands of Muslim American service members under his command and the populations in regions where U.S. forces operate.
The "kafir" tattoo completes Hegseth's visual manifesto: not just Christian dominance, but explicit rejection and hostility toward Islam, which seems to represent an ideological foundation for religious warfare rather than for professional military leadership.
The weaponized historical revisionism: An American flag with only 13 stars (representing the original 1777-1795 Revolutionary War era) and an AR-15 rifle integrated into the lower stripes. While Hegseth claims it represents "the AR-15 I carried in Iraq," this combination creates a sophisticated ideological statement suggesting that armed resistance may be necessary to restore America to its "original" 13-colony composition.
The 13-star configuration explicitly rejects the legitimacy of America's expansion and constitutional evolution, while the AR-15 integration provides the mechanism for "restoration."
This mirrors not just Three Percenter militia propaganda, but specifically "restorationist" movements that seek to return America to a pre-Civil War, pre-immigration, pre-constitutional amendment era when voting rights, citizenship, and political power were more restricted.
The symbol effectively weaponizes nostalgia for the founding era while rejecting 240+ years of democratic development and territorial expansion.
Additional symbols: A Chi-Rho symbol (early Christian emblem connected to Emperor Constantine's military conquests), crossed Revolutionary War muskets, a circle of 13 stars, Hebrew lettering spelling "Yeshua" (Jesus), as well as additional legitimate military insignia which could help legitimize the extremist imagery in the minds of those exposed.
The collection was so concerning when Hegseth was serving that he was flagged as a potential insider threat by fellow troops and removed from National Guard duty during Biden's inauguration.
Author’s Note: While this analysis covers Hegseth's most prominent and publicly documented tattoos, additional symbols may exist that have not been captured in available reporting.
Not Childish Decisions
Crucially, Hegseth acquired these tattoos in his late 30s during the Trump era, showing deliberate interest and commitment as a fully-formed adult.
The systematic nature of the collection (acquired over years and thematically integrated) and his statements about it demonstrate it to be a constructed ideological statement, not simple random patriotic expression.
He has proudly explained their militant meanings and boasted about inspiring others to get matching tattoos, eliminating any claim of innocent misunderstanding.
From Symbols to Policy
What may have once seemed like abstract extremist iconography to some has now clearly translated into concrete policy decisions that benefit America's enemies–decisions which are posing serious dangers.
According to multiple reports, Hegseth has now frozen weapons shipments to Ukraine three separate times (in February, May, and July) often without informing President Trump, the White House, or key officials including Ukraine special envoy Keith Kellogg and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The pattern reveals something more troubling than mere "miscommunication."
While working with Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, a longtime skeptic of Ukraine aid, and Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg, Hegseth appears to be pursuing his own foreign policy agenda which aligns more closely with Russian interests rather than American commitments.
Republican Alarm 🤡
Even GOP senators who confirmed Hegseth are now expressing serious concerns about his leadership and judgment.
"That's a problem," said one Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss the matter with The Hill. "I would elevate this to being beyond concerned, to being alarmed."
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who cast a pivotal vote to confirm Hegseth, told CNN that the Defense Secretary is "out of his depth" and called his Ukraine decisions "amateurish." Tillis suggested he probably wouldn't vote to confirm Hegseth "based on the information today."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Congress needs to get to "the bottom" of the weapons freezes, while Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) called for congressional "oversight" hearings.
A senior Senate Republican aide told The Hill it was "a clear goof-up on a lot of levels," while another GOP senator warned of what they termed "rookie mistakes" by Hegseth and his team.
Ideological Through-Line
Hegseth's chaotic leadership and apparent sympathy for isolationist positions that benefit Putin represent more than simple policy mistakes. They reflect the logical outcome of the worldview expressed within his tattoo collection.
Hegseth's repeated, unauthorized weapons freezes align perfectly with his restorationist symbolism that views the current 50-state American government as fundamentally illegitimate. Someone who dons a tattoo of a 13-star Revolutionary War flag (rejecting 240+ years of territorial expansion and constitutional evolution) and symbols such as "1775," and "Join or Die", suggesting the current government requires the same armed resistance as British colonial rule, may perceive the undermining of official U.S. policy as ideologically justified “restoration” work.
The 13-star flag specifically signals preference for pre-Civil War, pre-immigration, pre-constitutional amendment America when voting rights and political power were restricted to the original Anglo-Protestant colonies. Combined with the integrated AR-15, this creates somewhat of a sophisticated restorationist manifesto suggesting that armed force may be necessary to return America to its "original" 13-colony composition and constitutional order.
The systematic combination of crusader ideology, restorationist symbolism, and anti-government themes creates a visual manifesto that advocates for religious warfare, revolutionary action against the current 50-state union, and military authority superseding civilian democratic institutions. Hegseth's apparent willingness to pursue his own agenda regardless of presidential direction reflects the anti-democratic ideology encoded in his 13-star revolutionary symbolism, which is a worldview that sees post-founding America as some sort of corrupted or broken state requiring “restoration”.
His comfort with policies that benefit Putin's Russia may stem from viewing the current expanded American government as so fundamentally illegitimate that weakening it serves his restorationist goals, even if it benefits foreign adversaries.
Historical Echoes
The tattoo collection follows troubling historical patterns documented in varying forms of academic research on hate symbolism. In 1939, American Nazis filled Madison Square Garden for a "Pro American Rally" that combined patriotic imagery with fascist ideology, arguing that protecting "Aryan character" was fundamentally American. This mixing of familiar patriotic and of new hate symbols was an intentional action meant to conflate the two sets of symbols in the minds of the audience.
More recently, as documented in reporting by The New York Times, white supremacist groups have adopted medieval crusader imagery to justify violence against Muslims, while militia movements use Revolutionary War symbolism to argue for armed resistance to democratic government.
Hegseth's symbolic strategy follows a familiar pattern. While individual symbols could each be defended as innocent–Collectively, they create an unmistakable anti-democratic narrative.
Putin's Man in the Pentagon?
The ultimate beneficiary of Hegseth's chaotic leadership appears to be Vladimir Putin. As Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer noted:
"You know who benefits most from Secretary Hegseth's and Donald Trump's incompetence? Vladimir Putin. When Putin sees the disorganization and lack of strategy, he has no incentive to negotiate."
The weapons freezes have created exactly the kind of confusion and unreliability that undermines NATO solidarity and Ukrainian resistance.
Whether through sabotage, incompetence, or both, Hegseth's Pentagon is advancing Russian strategic objectives.
The Remaining Question
Six months into Hegseth's tenure, the warnings about his extremist ideology have proven prescient. His tattoo collection was not just symbolic but prophetic, encoding the chaos he would bring to the Pentagon.
As Republican senators belatedly discover the consequences of confirming someone whose body art advocates for religious warfare and revolutionary resistance, the damage to American credibility and Ukrainian survival continues to mount.
The stakes could not be higher.
Historical precedent suggests that if Ukraine falls to Putin's aggression, the security architecture that has prevented major European war since 1945 may collapse. Just as the failure to stop fascist expansion in the 1930s led to global conflagration, success in Ukraine would likely embolden Putin to test NATO's Article 5 commitments in the Baltics or Poland. The resulting crisis would lead into exactly the kind of major European war that robust Ukrainian resistance has so far prevented.
A strong Ukraine is not just about Ukrainian rights, dignity, and sovereignty (to which they are all deeply entitled!), it is also about preventing World War III.
The question is no longer whether Hegseth's ideology disqualifies him for the weighty role of Secretary of Defense. The reality is painfully clear and the evidence quite ample that he never should have been confirmed.
The remaining question is whether those in Congress who have some degree of understanding and commitment to the stakes at hand will act to prevent further damage to American security and global stability before our window of opportunity closes permanently.
Vladimir Putin, at least, is pleased with their choice to confirm him.