The Pentagon has defended its decision to hire a former Jan. 6 riot defendant for a sensitive counterterrorism position, calling him a “qualified, patriotic young professional” after reports surfaced about his new role within the Department of War.
Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez appeared to confirm reporting by the Washington Post that Elias Irizarry, a former Citadel cadet who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, is now serving as a political appointee at the Pentagon.
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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,” Valdez posted Tuesday on X.
Valdez also criticized the Washington Post’s reporting, accusing the newspaper of disregarding national security.
“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,” he said.
Pentagon officials hired Irizarry to work in the department’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict Office’s irregular warfare and counterterrorism division, according to the Washington Post. The position requires a top secret security clearance, the outlet said.
Irizarry, a South Carolina native and former cadet at the Citadel military college, pleaded guilty in 2022 to one misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted area. He was 19 years old at the time of the riot.
Prosecutors initially charged him with additional offenses, including disorderly and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, before he reached a plea agreement.
Federal prosecutors at the time said Irizarry attended President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before joining the crowd that breached the Capitol. Court filings showed he carried a metal pole from a broken bike rack, climbed scaffolding outside the Capitol, and entered the building through a window.
Prosecutors described him as an “active participant” in the riot, though they did not accuse him of assaulting law enforcement officers.
In March 2023, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sentenced Irizarry to 14 days in jail and ordered him to pay $500 in restitution.
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Irizarry later expressed remorse for his actions. In a letter submitted to the court, he wrote that his participation in Jan. 6 brought “great shame” on himself, his family, and the country. He said he did not view himself as a victim and acknowledged the harm caused to Capitol staff and police officers.
The Citadel suspended Irizarry after his guilty plea, finding that he violated the school’s standards of conduct. According to his LinkedIn profile, Irizarry graduated from the Citadel in May 2024 with a B.A. in political science.
