symbol

In 2020, he has said, he was forbidden from serving with his National Guard unit during Joe Biden’s inauguration because he has a tattoo of a symbol, the Jerusalem cross, used by white nationalist groups.

The book drew a following, and Mahoney launched the “Pine Tree Party,” using the same symbol of a pine tree derived from the Christian Nationalist banner “An Appeal to Heaven” that could be seen during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S.

“It is a good symbol for a cosmopolitan city that is home to lots of human transplants — from other parts of the U.S. and around the world.”

Hegseth writes in the book that he was removed from his duty guarding Biden’s inauguration because soldiers scrolled through his social media and spotted a tattoo on his chest of a Jerusalem or Deus vult cross, a historic Christian symbol that in recent years has been appropriated by the far-right.

Hegseth maintains the image — which was waved on flags by some who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 — is a religious symbol that “represents Christ’s sacrifices and the mission to spread his gospel to the four corners of the world.”