When Rep. Nancy Pelosi repeated the falsehood that Pres. Trump was responsible for the delayed deployment of the National Guard prior to the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, the man who was the U.S. Capitol chief of police at the time rebuked the California Democrat.
“Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people,” former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund replied to a X.com post on Monday by Pelosi.
In her post, Pelosi attacks Pres. Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement in the Nation’s Capital by falsely comparing it to the delayed deployment when the Capitol was overwhelmed in 2021:
“Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake.
“Now, he’s activating the DC Guard to distract from his incompetent mishandling of tariffs, health care, education and immigration — just to name a few blunders.”
In his response, the former Capitol police chief notes that:
- He requested National Guard assistance three days before January 6 – but, “but your Sergeant at Arms denied it.” Pelosi was Speaker of the House at the time.
- The Trump Administration offered National Guard support – “but I was forced to decline because I lacked the legal authority.”
- His repeated calls for National Guard help during the January 6 incident were repeatedly denied by the Sergeant at Arms for “over 70 agonizing minutes” supposedly waiting for Pelosi’s approval.
“When I needed assistance, it was denied,” Sund tells Pelosi:
“Yet when it suited you, you ordered fencing topped with concertina wire and surrounded the Capitol with thousands of armed National Guard troops.”
One X.com user supported Sund by posting video of a report by FBI Director Kash Patel.
Stop lying. Here’s Kash explaining the sequence of events that led to Trump offering 20,000 National Guard for January 6th.
— Patri0tsareinContr0l (@Patri0tContr0l) August 11, 2025
Kash says he went directly to the Capitol Police and Nancy Pelosi and asked her how many she wanted.
“They refused it ALL.” pic.twitter.com/K7MHkvSk41
Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Sund’s full response is presented below:
“Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people. On January 3, I requested National Guard assistance, but your Sergeant at Arms denied it. Under federal law (2 U.S.C. §1970), I was prohibited from calling them in without specific approval. That same day, Carol Corbin at the Pentagon offered National Guard support, but I was forced to decline because I lacked the legal authority. On January 6, while the Capitol was under attack and despite my repeated calls, your Sergeant at Arms again denied my urgent requests for over 70 agonizing minutes, ‘running it up the chain’ for your approval. When I needed assistance, it was denied. Yet when it suited you, you ordered fencing topped with concertina wire and surrounded the Capitol with thousands of armed National Guard troops.”
