The Pentagon has quietly brought a former Jan. 6 rioter into one of its most sensitive corners. The Washington Post reports that Elias Irizarry, who entered the Capitol through a broken window while carrying a metal pole in 2021 and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, is now a political appointee in the Defense Department office that oversees irregular warfare and counterterrorism. The unit handles some of the military's most delicate missions, including embassy security and hostage rescues, and all roles require a top-secret security clearance. Multiple Pentagon staffers told the Post the hire has rattled colleagues. "To put someone so junior and new to DOD, and with such a checkered background, into such a sensitive portfolio raises serious questions for leadership," said one.
Irizarry, who NBC notes was 19 at the time of the attack, previously served in the Civil Air Patrol and attended the Citadel, which expelled him after Jan. 6 and later readmitted him; he graduated in 2024. At sentencing, he called the Capitol assault "the largest attack on our democracy since the Civil War" and said he was "ashamed" of his role. A judge cited his youth and "susceptibility to influence" in supporting his effort to return to school. Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez defended the hire, calling Irizarry "a qualified, patriotic young professional." Irizarry was among more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by President Trump.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
