Four people familiar with the situation reveal that the Trump administration has brought a convicted 6 January rioter—who subsequently expressed remorse for participating in the US Capitol insurrection— into a Pentagon office handling highly classified military operations.
Internal staff are deeply alarmed by the decision to place Elias Irizarry into the Department of Defense's Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict bureau. Sources stated that employees are openly questioning how a person convicted of attacking American democracy can be trusted with top-tier government secrets, though all spoke anonymously out of fear for their jobs. He was just 19 during the 2021 insurrection.
Elias Irizarry, a graduate of The Citadel Military College and one of the youngest January 6 defendants, reportedly serves as a political appointee under Assistant Secretary Derrick Anderson in the Department of War’s Office of Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.…pic.twitter.com/X3fwmk14Ja
Working inside a small team of about 40 people, Irizarry is now part of the irregular warfare and counter-terrorism branch. According to sources close to the matter, this specific unit is responsible for critical security files including hostage rescues, personnel recovery, and protecting embassies.
According to two insiders cited byThe Washington Post, the unit performs some of the Pentagon's most highly sensitive work. Consequently, anyone assigned to these posts must successfully hold a top-secret security clearance.
'In the case of rescue/extraction missions, it can place our special operators in some of the most complex and dangerous environments we ask of them,' said one person familiar with Irizarry's hiring. '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.'
The acting Pentagon press secretary, Joel Valdez, defended the move in an official statement, declaring that Irizarry is 'a qualified, patriotic young professional, and we are proud to have him as a political appointee' at the Department of Defence. However, it remains a mystery exactly who within the Trump administration selected him for the role.
Legal documents reveal that when the Capitol was stormed, Irizarry was a first-year student at The Citadel, a public military academy based in South Carolina, while also participating as a cadet within the Civil Air Patrol.
Irizarry made his way to Washington with two other individuals, ultimately joining the mass ofDonald Trumpsupporters who overwhelmed police cordons to infiltrate the building just as Congress was certifying Joe Biden's presidential victory. According to legal briefs, he gained entry through a broken window while armed with a metal pole, but he did not use it to hit anyone.
The Pentagon just hired Elias Irizarry — who was convicted for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and sentenced to 14 days in jail.Congratulations Elias! 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/2lt5jyYniT
Source: International Business Times UK
