Trump Pardons Jan. 6 Defendant Elias Irizarry, Who Is Later Appointed to Special Operations Policy Role at Pentagon

Elias Irizarry, who pleaded guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol events, serves as a special assistant to Assistant Secretary of Defense Derrick Anderson. Irizarry, 19 at the time, was a student at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina.

Federal prosecutors said he traveled to Washington in early January 2021 with a friend and an internet acquaintance, attended President Trump's "stop the steal" rally, and marched to the Capitol. He climbed into the building through a shattered window and spent 27 minutes inside, walking into a conference room and the Capitol rotunda while carrying a metal pole, prosecutors said.

His lawyer stated he entered to look for his acquaintance.

Irizarry was sentenced to 14 days of incarceration. President Trump pardoned him and almost everybody else linked to the Capitol riot on the first day of his second term in 2025. A defense official told @CBSNews that Irizarry has worked at the Defense Department since early 2025 and holds a top-secret security clearance.

Derrick Anderson leads the military's Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict policy office, which oversees special operations and irregular warfare capabilities. Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed the appointment on X, writing: "Mr.

" He added: "I am ashamed because I will always be a part of this disgrace," and said he recognized the events were wrong as soon as he left and watched videos of the violence.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan described the sentencing as "one of the most difficult I have had of the January 6th cases," citing Irizarry's age and background. She offered to write him a recommendation letter if he reapplied to The Citadel, which discharged him.