Politics Commentary
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent years attempting to rewrite the narrative of January 6, 2021. This week, however, she ran headfirst into an inconvenient problem: the man who was actually in charge of Capitol security that day remembers what really happened.
And he is no longer staying quiet.
After President Donald Trump announced a sweeping federal crackdown on violent crime in Washington, D.C. — including temporarily taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department and activating the D.C. National Guard — Pelosi lashed out, accusing Trump of hypocrisy and incompetence.
“Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake,” Pelosi claimed. “Now, he’s activating the D.C. Guard to distract from his incompetent mishandling of tariffs, health care, education and immigration — just to name a few blunders.”
The accusation was familiar. The problem is that it’s also demonstrably false.
The Man in Charge Pushes Back
It didn’t take long for Steven Sund, the former Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, to respond — and his rebuttal was devastating.
“Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people,” Sund wrote in a pointed statement that directly contradicted Pelosi’s version of events.
Sund explained that he formally requested National Guard assistance on January 3, 2021, three full days before the riot. That request, he says, was denied by Pelosi’s own House Sergeant at Arms.
Under federal law — specifically 2 U.S.C. §1970 — Sund could not unilaterally activate the National Guard. He required explicit authorization from congressional leadership.
That authorization never came.
The Pentagon Offered — Pelosi’s Office Said No
Sund’s account goes further.
According to the former chief, the Pentagon proactively offered National Guard support on January 3. The offer came from Carol Corbin, then serving as a senior Pentagon official.
Sund says he was forced to decline the offer, not because Trump blocked it — but because Pelosi’s Sergeant at Arms had not granted him the legal authority to accept it.
This detail alone obliterates Pelosi’s claim that Trump “delayed” the Guard. The Guard was offered. The Guard was requested. The Guard was denied.
By Pelosi’s side of the Capitol.
Seventy Minutes of Silence
When January 6 arrived and the situation spiraled out of control, Sund says he repeatedly begged for National Guard deployment.
What happened next is perhaps the most damning detail of all.
“For over 70 agonizing minutes,” Sund wrote, his urgent requests were stalled as Pelosi’s Sergeant at Arms “ran it up the chain” — meaning Pelosi herself.
Seventy minutes.
While police officers were overwhelmed.
While windows were smashed.
While lawmakers were evacuated.
Authorization sat in bureaucratic limbo.
A Stunning Contrast
Sund also highlighted the breathtaking hypocrisy that followed.
“When I needed assistance, it was denied,” he wrote. “Yet when it suited you, you ordered fencing topped with concertina wire and surrounded the Capitol with thousands of armed National Guard troops.”
Indeed, in the weeks after January 6 — once Trump was gone — Pelosi authorized a militarized security perimeter around the Capitol that resembled a fortified war zone.
The Guard was suddenly acceptable.
The wire was suddenly justified.
The urgency suddenly existed.
Pelosi’s Own Words Undermine Her
Adding to the embarrassment are Pelosi’s own recorded statements from January 6, captured for an HBO documentary and later aired by CNN.
In the footage, Pelosi is heard saying she wanted Trump to come to the Capitol so she could “punch him out” and “go to jail… happy.”
When aides told her the Secret Service had discouraged Trump from coming due to security concerns, Pelosi replied:
“I hope he comes. This is my moment. I’ve been waiting for this.”
The question Sund and many others continue to ask is obvious:
Why wasn’t she “waiting” to authorize the National Guard when it actually mattered?
Trump’s D.C. Crackdown Rekindles the Truth
Trump’s recent announcement of a 30-day federal takeover of the D.C. Metropolitan Police under the Home Rule Act reignited the controversy.
Calling it “liberation day” for the capital, Trump vowed to dismantle violent gangs, roaming mobs, and rampant drug crime.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,” Trump said. “And we’re not going to take it anymore.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that National Guard units are on standby and fully coordinated — a level of preparedness conspicuously absent on January 6 under Pelosi’s leadership.
Trump warned that similar federal interventions could follow in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles if local leaders fail to protect public safety.
The Narrative Is Cracking
For years, Pelosi has attempted to pin sole responsibility for January 6 on Trump. But Steven Sund’s testimony — consistent, detailed, and backed by law — exposes a far more complicated and uncomfortable truth.
Trump did not block the Guard.
The Pentagon did not delay.
Capitol Police did not refuse help.
Pelosi’s office did.
And no amount of talking points can erase that.
Final Thought
Nancy Pelosi may continue to blame Trump. She may continue to posture and deflect. But the man who was actually responsible for Capitol security has now spoken — again — and his account has never changed.
The facts are stubborn things.
And this time, they’re not on Pelosi’s side.