Department of War Hires Man Convicted in Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

The Department of War has hired a man who pleaded guilty to taking part in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Department of War spokesman Joel Valdez on June 3 confirmed that Elias Irizarry is working for the Pentagon.

“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,” Valdez told The Epoch Times via email.

The Department of War declined to provide any details on Irizarry’s role or who decided to hire him.

Irizarry did not return a message by the time of publication.

He states on LinkedIn that he is a special assistant with the department and that he started in March 2025.

In 2022, Irizarry pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds after prosecutors said he was spotted inside the Capitol wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and carrying a pole.

Video footage showed Irizarry, who was a cadet in a Civil Air Patrol unit and a freshman at a military college in South Carolina, entering the Capitol through a broken window, according to charging documents.

“No matter what is decided today, it is my promise I will work as hard as possible every day for the rest of my life to redeem myself to my family, to you, to the police, to the people who work in Congress, and to the people of Washington, D.C. who saw their beautiful city desecrated, and to this country,” Irizarry told the court during his sentencing hearing in 2023. “While you see me today as a result of my foolish mistake, I hope that you will see me again someday and be proud of what you see.”

Lawyers representing Irizarry asked the court to sentence him to no jail time, noting his regret and how he was only 19 on Jan. 6, 2021.

Government prosecutors requested 45 days in jail in part because they said he “directed and encouraged rioters toward the Capitol building.”

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said that Irizarry’s “may be one of the most difficult I have had of the January 6th cases because Mr. Irizarry is so very young, and his background is really quite commendable to January 6th.”

She sentenced Irizarry to 14 days of incarceration, which she said reflected how Irizarry had remained at the Capitol until the sun set, “soaking in everything that was going on, the chaos.”

Irizarry went on to graduate from The Citadel, the military university in South Carolina, with a degree in political science, according to his LinkedIn profile.

President Donald Trump in early 2025 pardoned people charged over the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, saying they were unjustly prosecuted.