In a Facebook post posted with a clip of the video, Hegseth wrote that the way Chansley was treated by the justice system was “disgusting.”

“Trump, Chansley and many more…the left wants us all locked up,” Hegseth wrote.

Hegseth served for nearly 20 years and was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. He has two bronze stars. Speaking about his service and defending other service members and veterans, he has taken steps to support convicted war criminals and recently said he told his platoon they could ignore directives limiting when where they could shoot.

In a podcast interview published earlier this month, Hegseth described receiving a briefing from a military lawyer in 2005 in Baghdad on the rules of engagement. Hegseth said the attorney told them they couldn’t shoot someone carrying a rocket-propelled grenade unless it was pointed at them.

“I remember walking out of that briefing and gathering my platoon and saying, ‘Guys, we’re not doing this. You know, if you see an enemy and they engage before they can point their gun at you and shoot, we’re going to have your back,” Hegseth said.

“All they do is take one incident and call it ‘war criminal,'” he said, referring to the New York Times, the left and Democrats, adding: “Why wouldn’t we support Wouldn’t we like these guys even if they weren’t perfect?

He said he was proud of the role he played in securing a pardon from Trump in 2019 for a former US Army commando who was to stand trial for the murder of a suspected Afghan bomb maker, as well as than for a former army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men around. shoot three Afghans, killing two. At Hegseth’s urging, Trump also ordered a promotion for Eddie Gallaghera Navy SEAL convicted of posing with a dead Islamic State captive in Iraq.

Hegseth complained that he himself was labeled an extremist by the Washington, D.C. National Guard and said he was blocked from serving at Biden’s inauguration, weeks after the Capitol attack of January 6, due to a cross tattoo on his chest. He said he decided to end his military service shortly afterward, in disgust.

But another Guard member who worked as a security guard before the inauguration gave AP an email he sent that showed him worrying about a different tattoo.

Retired Staff Sergeant. DeRicko Gaither, who was in charge of physical security for the D.C. National Guard and a member of its counterterrorism force protection team in January 2021, told the AP he received an email from a former member from the DC Guard containing a screenshot of a social network. post containing two photos showing several of Hegseth’s tattoos.

Gaither told AP he researched the tattoos, including one of a Jerusalem cross, and the context of the words. “Deus Vult”, Latin meaning “God wills it”, on his bicep — and determined they had enough connections to extremist groups to forward the email to his commanders.

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 and violent extremist groups. Their meaning depends on the context, she explained.

Some extremists cite their association with the Christian Crusades to express anti-Muslim sentiment. THE Global Project Against Hate and Extremism notes that in 2023, the words appeared in the notebooks of Allen, Texas shooter Mauricio Garcia. Anders Breivik, a right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in 2011, made similar mentions in his manifesto.

In an email Gaither sent on Jan. 14, 2021, which he provided to the AP, he expressed concerns about Hegseth, a major at the time, and only mentioned the tattoo ” Deus Vult. In the email to then-Maj. General William Walker, who was commanding general of the Washington, D.C. National Guard, Gauther expressed concern that the phrase was associated with white supremacists who invoke the idea of ​​a white Christian medieval past as well as the Christian Crusades .

“MG Walker, Sir, with the information provided, this is consistent with an insider threat and that is what we, as members of the United States Army, the District of Columbia National Guard and of the Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Team, we are working to prevent,” Gaither wrote.

“I said, ‘You’ve got to take a look at this,'” Gaither said in a telephone interview with the AP on Thursday. “Later I got an email telling him to stay away. »

Biden’s inauguration took place just two weeks after the insurrection, and the military was taking no chances. More than 25,000 Guard members were streaming into the city and each was undergoing additional screening, depending on their proximity to Biden.

A total of 12 National Guard members have been asked to stay home, former Pentagon press secretary Jonathan Hoffman told reporters at a briefing. a day before the inauguration. At least two were flagged due to potential extremism concerns; the rest were due to other background check issues identified as concerns by the military, FBI or Secret Service. It was unclear whether Hegseth was among the 12 Hoffmans mentioned at the time.

Hegseth has also speculated in podcast interviews that he was asked to step down because of his political views, his role as a reporter covering Jan. 6, or because he works for Fox News.

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Smith reported from Providence, RI, and Dearen reported from Los Angeles.

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Contact AP’s global investigations team at [email protected]