Pentagon Hires Man Who Pleaded Guilty in Jan. 6 Riot for Sensitive Civilian Job in Special Operations Policy Office
He serves as a special assistant with a top-secret clearance in a policy office that oversees special operations and irregular warfare, officials said.
- The Trump administration appointed Elias Irizarry, a Jan. 6 participant pardoned last year, to a sensitive Pentagon post in the Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict office.
- During the 2021 Capitol riot, Irizarry—then a 19-year-old Citadel student—climbed through a broken window carrying a metal pole, spending 27 minutes inside the building before pleading guilty to trespassing.
- Irizarry serves as a special assistant to Assistant Secretary of Defense Derrick Anderson, overseeing classified counterterrorism and special operations requiring a top-secret security clearance held by about 40 office staff.
- Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez defended the appointment, calling Irizarry a "qualified, patriotic young professional," while Democratic lawmakers argued the sensitive role demands higher judgment standards.
- The appointment fuels debate over Jan. 6 defendants in government roles, complicating a 2023 sentencing where Judge Tanya Chutkan cited Irizarry's "youth and susceptibility" as reasons for leniency.
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12 Articles
Once with a metal rod at the Capitol Tower and condemned for it, Elias Irizarry is now working in the Pentagon. Trump's US government appreciates such a "patriotic expert."
The president wants a convicted Jan. 6 rioter inside the Pentagon
President Donald Trump recently nominated Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to be the acting Director of National Intelligence, later amending that after pushback to say Pulte was not his final pick for the job (“Trump says Pulte will only be temporary as intel chief,“ June 5). The president followed that up by wanting Elias Irizarry, a man who was convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, to be placed in the Pentagon in an off…
Pentagon hires man who pleaded guilty in Jan. 6 riot for sensitive civilian job in special operations policy office
A man who pleaded guilty to participating in the Jan. 6 riot as a 19-year-old — and later described the events of that day as a "disgrace" — now works for the Defense Department.
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