Last summer, for example, Trump’s Justice Department hired Jared Wise, a former FBI agent who not only participated in the Jan. 6 riot, he was also filmed urging his fellow insurrectionists to “kill” police officers. (Though Wise was criminally charged, federal prosecutors didn’t have time to proceed with the case before Trump started handing out pardons to rioters, including violent felons who clashed with police officers.)

Wise parted ways with the administration a couple of months ago, but as it turns out, he wasn’t the only Jan. 6 rioter to get a job on Team Trump. The Washington Post reported:

A convicted Jan. 6 rioter who later said that he regretted his participation in the U.S. Capitol attack has been hired by the Trump administration to work inside a Pentagon office that manages highly classified military operations, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The appointment of Elias Irizarry, who was 19 at the time of the riot in 2021, to a post in the Defense Department’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office has raised alarm internally among staff who question how anyone convicted in the assault on American democracy could be trusted for such a sensitive role in the U.S. government, these people said.

Though it’s unclear specifically who hired the rioter who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 14 days in jail in 2023, the Pentagon made no effort to deny the accuracy of the reporting. In fact, a spokesperson for the department described Irizarry as “a qualified, patriotic young professional,” adding that the Defense Department is “proud to have him as a political appointee.”.....

As for the broader pattern, Trump and his team have now pardoned Jan. 6 rioters, taken steps to pay Jan. 6 rioters, celebrated Jan. 6 rioters, released a song with Jan. 6 rioters, helped fundraise for Jan. 6 rioters and, in at least two instances, hired Jan. 6 rioters to serve in influential federal positions.