Washington DC - President Donald Trump's administration recently hired a man who was convicted of participating in the January 6 Capitol riots for a sensitive Pentagon job.

According to The Washington Post, Elias Irizarry was recently appointed to a post in the Defense Department’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office.

He is assigned to the office's irregular warfare and counterterrorism section, which handles operations such as embassy security, personnel recovery, and hostage rescue.

Two sources described the role as "among the most delicate that the Pentagon performs, and noted it requires "a top-secret security clearance."

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Irizarry was one of the thousands of MAGA supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

He later pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and was sentenced to 14 days in jail.

During trial, he expressed remorse for his actions, telling the court he was "ashamed," and describing the riots as "the largest attack on our democracy since the Civil War."

His recent hiring has raised alarms within the Pentagon, as staffers have been questioning how a convicted rioter could be trusted with such a position.

In an X post, Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez insisted Irizarry is "a qualified, patriotic young professional," but did not go into detail about said qualifications.

Valdez also attacked the Post for their reporting, claiming the outlet consistently publishes classified information that could "hurt our nation on a daily basis."

Since January 6, 2021, Trump and his MAGA base have aggressively sought to change the narrative about what took place that day, with the president claiming protesters were "peaceful," and it was "a day of love."

Immediately after returning to the Oval Office in January 2025, Trump signed an order granting clemency to over 1,500 of the rioters, including violent offenders.

Over 140 Capitol officers were harmed that day, with several committing suicide shortly after, and rioters caused over $2.7 million in property damage.

Trump recently attempted to implement an "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to give payments to "wrongly" convicted rioters, but he backed down after facing heavy criticism from his own party.