National Security

Pete Hegseth Delights in Violence

His first year at the Pentagon has been marked by uncomplicated celebrations of death.

First published in The Atlantic on February 2, 2026.

by Missy Ryan, The Atlantic

February 5, 2026 | reading time: 7 Min.

Even before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had declared Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist, Pete Hegseth was online trashing his home state. Hegseth, who grew up north of Minneapolis, took to social media in the hours after masked immigration agents shot the ICU nurse with a stark calculation: “ICE > MN.”