{"id":2403,"date":"2026-06-04T13:37:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T13:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=2403"},"modified":"2026-06-04T13:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T13:37:43","slug":"pentagon-defends-hiring-of-convicted-jan-6-rioter-from-sc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=2403","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon defends hiring of convicted Jan. 6 rioter from SC"},"content":{"rendered":"
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YORK COUNTY, S.C. (WJZY) \u2014 The Pentagon is defending the hiring of a York County man who took part in the Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021.<\/p>

Read more Jazz pianist accused of crimes against children dies after being shot by officers at SC apartment complex: Officials<\/a><\/p>\n

Elias Irizarry, who was convicted<\/strong> and later pardoned, was selected to serve in a counterterrorism role with the Defense Department. The Washington Post was first to report<\/strong> that Irizarry will work in an office that oversees sensitive special operations and irregular warfare matters.<\/p>\n

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Pictured: Elias Irizarry, who was convicted and later pardoned.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Five years ago, he drove with two friends from South Carolina to DC to take part in a massive riot that sought to interrupt the certification of the 2020 election.<\/p>\n

Press and surveillance photos from that day show Irizarry, armed with a metal pole, directing fellow rioters toward the Capitol before climbing through a broken window. After wandering through the rotunda and posing with statues for nearly half an hour, Irizarry exited the building, but he stayed on Capitol grounds until dusk.<\/p>

Read more NTSB: Teen SUV driver had THC in system before Charlotte crash that killed family of 5<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Washington Post also reported that during his sentencing, Irizarry showed remorse, saying January 6h represented something truly horrible.<\/p>\n

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Irizarry, who at the time was a freshman at The Citadel<\/strong>, pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building and spent 14 days in jail. He was included in President Donald Trump\u2019s mass pardoning of January 6\u00a0defendants in January 2025.<\/p>\n

In a statement on X<\/strong>, a Pentagon spokesperson defended the new hire.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Elias Irizarry is a qualified, patriotic young professional, and we are proud to have him as a political appointee at the Department of War,\u201d said Acting Press Secretary Joel Valdez.<\/p>

Read more \u2018She is as equal as everyone else\u2019: Alamance County family asks district to honor late daughter at graduation ceremony<\/a><\/p>\n

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YORK COUNTY, S.C. (WJZY) \u2014 The Pentagon is defending the hiring of a York County man who took part in the Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021. Elias Irizarry, who was convicted and later pardoned, was selected to serve in a counterterrorism role with the Defense Department. The Washington Post was first to report that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPentagon defends hiring of convicted Jan. 6 rioter from SC - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=2403\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pentagon defends hiring of convicted Jan. 6 rioter from SC - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"YORK COUNTY, S.C. 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