The Pentagon has appointed Elias Irizarry, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol, to a position in the Department of Defense’s special operations and low intensity conflict office — a unit that manages highly classified military operations — The Guardian reported Tuesday, citing the Washington Post, which first reported the story.
Irizarry was 19 years old when he participated in the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as supporters of then-President Donald Trump sought to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump had falsely claimed was stolen. Irizarry pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 14 days in jail, according to court filings.
At his 2023 sentencing, Irizarry expressed remorse, telling the court: “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.”
The position Irizarry will fill sits on a counter-terrorism and irregular warfare team of about 40 people whose responsibilities include embassy security, personnel recovery and hostage rescue, the Washington Post reported. One person familiar with the role, speaking anonymously, told the newspaper that the team’s missions “can place our special operators in some of the most complex and dangerous environments we ask of them” and that placing “someone so junior and new to DoD, and with such a checkered background, into such a sensitive portfolio raises serious questions for leadership.”
Joel Valdez, the Pentagon’s acting press secretary, confirmed and defended the appointment in an email statement, while attacking the Washington Post journalists who first reported it. “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,” Valdez said. He accused the Post of having a “track record of low-tier reporters publishing and soliciting classified information that could hurt our nation on a daily basis.”
Five people died during or in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack, and four police officers who responded died by suicide in the months that followed.
Irizarry was a student at the Citadel, the South Carolina military college, at the time of the riot and was discharged from the institution afterward. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over his sentencing, noted that his record before the riot had been “quite commendable” and offered to write a letter of recommendation to support his readmission. He was readmitted and graduated from the Citadel in 2024.
Irizarry later ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the South Carolina state legislature, losing in a 2024 Republican primary.