Convicted January 6 rioter appointed to sensitive Pentagon counterterrorism job - report

The Trump administration has appointed Elias Irizarry, a 24-year-old convicted participant in the January 6th Capitol riot, to a sensitive position within the Pentagon's Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office. The Washington Post reported on the appointment, citing four sources close to the matter. This office manages classified military operations, leading to concerns about placing an individual with a "checkered background" in such a critical role.

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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.

One source familiar with the hiring process expressed concern, stating that putting someone so junior and new to the Department of Defense into such a sensitive portfolio "raises serious questions for leadership." The exact individual within the administration responsible for Irizarry's appointment remains unclear. Irizarry himself has previously expressed shame for his involvement in the January 6th events, calling it "the largest attack on our democracy since the Civil War" at his 2023 sentencing.

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I am ashamed because I will always be a part of this disgrace. January 6th represented something truly horrible; it was the largest attack on our democracy since the Civil War.

His sentencing judge had noted his "youth and susceptibility to influence" at the time of the riot and offered to help him reapply to his former military school. In contrast to these concerns, Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez defended Irizarry's appointment. Valdez described him as a "qualified, patriotic young professional" and a political appointee at the "Department of War." Valdez also criticized the Washington Post, accusing the outlet of not caring about national security due to its reporting practices.

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Mr. Elias Irizarry is a qualified, patriotic young professional, and we are proud to have him as a political appointee at the Department of War. Unlike Mr. Irizarry, the Washington Post does not care about national security, given its track record of low-tier reporters publishing and soliciting classified information that could hurt our nation on a daily basis.