Pentagon’s New Counterterrorism Official Caught on Video at January 6

Pentagon’s New Counterterrorism Official Caught on Video at January 6

The Pentagon’s newly hired counterterrorism official was seen on camera participating in the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Video analyzed by The Washington Post shows Elias Irizarry, who was 19 in 2021, crawling into the Capitol through a broken window, posing for photos in a private conference room, climbing onto a statue of former President Ronald Reagan, and leaving after 20 minutes. He was charged with misdemeanor trespassing before being pardoned by President Trump. The Post identified Irizarry in at least five videos of the insurrection. “I am ashamed because I will always be a part of this disgrace,” Irizarry said during his 2023 sentencing. “January 6 represented something truly horrible; it was the largest attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” Now he’ll serve in a sensitive position at the Pentagon’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office, which oversees embassy security, personnel recovery, and hostage rescue, among other things. Irizarry isn’t the first insurrectionist to be rewarded with a job in the Trump administration. Former FBI agent and insurrectionist Jared L. Wise—who shouted “ Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em! ” while the mob attacked law enforcement at the Capitol—is now part of Trump’s Department of Justice.