Women May Have No Place in Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon—But Jan. 6 Insurrectionists Do!
Elias Irizarry, who entered the Capitol through a broken window while holding a metal pole, got a job at the highly sensitive counterterrorism role at the Pentagon this week.
Photo: Getty Images Trump Administration january 6
The administration seems to have a natural penchant for irony, and particularly, handing out jobs with contradictions so poetic you’d consider them satire. RFK Jr., who famously claimed his brain was partially eaten by a worm, is in charge of the nation’s health and human services; Linda McMahon, who once faked having a degree in education, is the education secretary; and before becoming FBI director, Kash Patel had an online history of amplifying QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory claiming Democrats are but a secret group of pedophiles that drink children’s blood.
As of Tuesday, we can also add to the irony roster another Jan. 6’er who’s been hired by the Trump administration… for a highly sensitive counterterrorism role at the Pentagon. Because while women may have no place in Pete Hegseth’s Department of War Defense, apparently insurrectionists do!
According to four sources that spoke to the Washington Post on Tuesday, DOD officials are concerned with the hiring of Elias Irizarry, who’s been reportedly tapped to join the Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office—a team focused on handling counterterrorism, hostage rescue missions, and embassy security. Per the outlet:
Irizarry is assigned to the office’s irregular warfare and counterterrorism section, the people familiar with the matter said. The team comprises about 40 people, and its portfolio includes operations such as embassy security, personnel recovery and hostage rescue.
Addressing the report, a spokesperson for the DOD tweeted, “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 added: “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.”
Records also show that after being arrested, Irizarry failed to show remorse but was intent on finding out who “backstabbed” him and “turned him in.” In 2023, however, he appeared before a judge to apologize (through gritted teeth, I imagine). “My participation in an event like January 6th has brought great shame upon myself, my family, and, unfortunately, my country,” he said. Clearly lip service, because while running for South Carolina’s legislature in 2024, an archived version of his campaign website claimed him as “one of several thousand prosecuted by the Department of Justice for nonviolent activities on January 6th.”
Irizarry told the judge he was “ashamed” of taking part in the “truly horrible” “disgrace” that was the Jan. 6 siege. You’d think that sort of apology might have disqualified him from getting hired by the Trump administration.
— Walter Olson (@walterolson.bsky.social) June 3, 2026 at 8:48 AM
Irizarry was one of more than 1,500 insurrectionists pardoned by Trump in his first day back in office, a number that’s slowly inched upwards since—which has come with absolutely no benefits to American society. Still, this shouldn’t be too surprising considering the president used to call the imprisoned rioters “hostages”—or that, earlier this month, he tried to funnel them $2 billion via slush fund last month, an effort that got ultimately tanked.
Alas, being a Jan. 6 insurrectionist has looked more and more like a Trump administration job spec as of late. In August, Jared Wise, who apparently egged on rioters to “kill” law enforcement officers at the Capitol that day, was hired for the Justice Department (he later quit); that same month, EJ Antoni was picked by Trump to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the White House later dropped his nomination); and Lord (she/her) knows how many Jan. 6 rioters have been picked for positions at ICE—a question that’s prompted Democrats to demand full hiring records. Again… the irony is thick.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.