The Pentagon hired a convicted Capitol rioter this week. His name is Elias Irizarry. He is 24 years old. In January 2021 he climbed through a broken window into the United States Capitol holding a metal pole, walked through restricted areas for five minutes on camera, and pleaded guilty in 2023 to a federal misdemeanor. Trump pardoned him on day one. This week the Pentagon put him in charge of counterterrorism operations in its Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office, the unit that manages hostage rescues, embassy security, and special reconnaissance. He has no counterterrorism experience. The Pentagon called him "a qualified, patriotic young professional."

He is not alone. Jared Wise, a former FBI agent who participated in January 6 and was filmed urging fellow insurrectionists to kill police officers, was hired by the Department of Justice last summer. Not investigated. Not prosecuted. Hired. By the same DOJ that prosecuted John Bolton to a felony guilty plea for sharing diary entries with his family.

The same week Irizarry was welcomed at the Pentagon, three other pardoned January 6 rioters were arrested on new charges. One on a gun charge in Texas. Two in a Florida human trafficking sting. One on a sexual exploitation of a minor plea deal.

Bolton got a felony for a diary. Irizarry got a counterterrorism clearance for a broken window. That is not irony. That is the stated policy.

-- Barron St. John | The Decoder Ring on Substack