Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The Pentagon hires Elias Irizarry, a pardoned January 6 rioter, as a political appointee in its counter-terrorism office
The Washington Post reported on June 2, 2026 that the 24-year-old now works in the office that oversees the military’s most classified operations.
What happened
The Department of Defense hired Elias Irizarry, 24, as a political appointee in its Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office, which oversees highly classified military operations. The Washington Post reported it on June 2, 2026. He was assigned to a counterterrorism and irregular warfare team whose work includes embassy security and hostage recovery.
Irizarry climbed through a window into the Capitol on January 6, 2021, while a Citadel cadet. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering a restricted building and was sentenced in 2023 to 14 days in jail. Trump pardoned him in January 2025.
The Pentagon confirmed the appointment and called him a qualified, patriotic young professional. Sen. Mark Warner asked publicly whether a convicted rioter should be doing that kind of work. Video of his entry into the Capitol was published two days later.
Who benefited
Irizarry got a sensitive national-security post at 24, after a conviction and a pardon. The hire shows that taking part in January 6 does not bar an appointment in an office that handles classified operations.
Who wanted something
The hire was made through Pentagon Secretary Hegseth’s political-appointee process and defended in public by the department’s press secretary. It followed Trump’s pardons of January 6 defendants, whom he has repeatedly called patriots. The Pentagon confirmed the hire when the Washington Post asked.
Who lost out
The staff of an office that handles hostage recovery and embassy security now work alongside someone whose record includes entering the Capitol on January 6. Standards that would have kept a recent offender out of sensitive roles were set aside for him.
Why it matters
A pardoned January 6 defendant now works in an office that oversees classified counterterrorism missions. The pardon has become a credential for a government job, and the vetting that governs national-security work did not stop it.
Sources The GuardianWikipedia (cites Washington Post, NBC News, The Hill)