Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund shot down a narrative former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was trying to sell Tuesday regarding President Donald Trump deploying the National Guard.
Of course, it was inevitable that Democrats were going to try to draw comparisons to the Jan. 6 response, and that’s what Pelosi did.
“In a bipartisan way, on Jan. 6, with violence against the Constitution, against the Congress, and against the United States Capitol, we begged the president of the United States to send in the National Guard. He would not do it,” she said.
“And yet, in a contra-constitutional way, he has sent the National Guard into California. Something is very wrong with this picture,” the former speaker added.
Sund responded, “FACT: I made 11 urgent calls requesting National Guard support on Jan 6, starting at 12:58 PM. Approval was withheld for 71 minutes by the House Sergeant at Arms, who reported directly to Speaker Pelosi. She caused critical delays, and now is shifting blame to @realDonaldTrump for failures she helped create. The record is clear.”
FACT: I made 11 urgent calls requesting National Guard support on Jan 6, starting at 12:58 PM. Approval was withheld for 71 minutes by the House Sergeant at Arms, who reported directly to Speaker Pelosi. She caused critical delays, and now is shifting blame to @realDonaldTrump… https://t.co/Hg7nn0iAuH
— Chief Steven Sund (@ChiefSund) June 10, 2025
According to the official timeline released by the National Guard two days after the Jan. 6 Capitol incursion, Sund speaks the truth.
The Defense Department noted that, based on a request prior to that day, officials had called up 340 Guardsmen to be on duty to support the police, helping with traffic and crowd control.
Should Pelosi be investigated for her staggering net worth after years of making just a congresswoman’s’ salary?
It should be pointed out that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was very much opposed to a large National Guard presence on Jan. 6, because she did not like the way Trump had called in the Guard to deal with the George Floyd riots the previous summer.
“To be clear, the District of Columbia is not requesting other federal law enforcement personnel and discourages any additional deployment without immediate notification to, and consultation with, [Metropolitan Police Department] if such plans are underway,” she posted on X, along with an image of a letter she sent to the secretary of the Army and the acting attorney general.
To be clear, the District of Columbia is not requesting other federal law enforcement personnel and discourages any additional deployment without immediate notification to, and consultation with, MPD if such plans are underway. pic.twitter.com/FhnNe1dWeJ
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 5, 2021
According to the Department of Defense, Bowser had a change of heart when her police department and the Capitol Police were overwhelmed on Jan. 6.
“D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested more assistance. Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller immediately called up 1,100 members of the D.C. National Guard,” the department said.
“At the same time, officials were collecting Guardsmen at traffic points and Metro stations and returning them to the D.C. Armory to refit for a crowd control mission, the secretary said. Their mission was to support D.C. Metropolitan Police and Capitol Hill Police.
“Guardsmen started flowing into the area of the Capitol soon after and reinforced Metro Police on the perimeter of the Capitol. This allowed the police and FBI to clear the chambers and offices of the U.S. Capitol,” according to Miller.
“By 7:15, both chambers and leadership offices were cleared, and members were able to return to business, and we began the planning for the following day,” he said.
The National Guard is not a SWAT force, always on standby. They need to be pulled from civilian life, geared up, transported, and deployed. So their response on Jan. 6 was quick.
GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, who serves on the House Oversight Committee, released transcripts last September from a Jan. 3, 2021, conversation Trump had with then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley about Jan. 6, instructing him to keep the event safe.
The president said, “Hey, look at this. There’s going to be a large amount of protesters here on the 6th, make sure that you have sufficient National Guard or Soldiers to make sure it’s a safe event.”
“[POTUS said] ‘Hey, I don’t care if you use Guard, or Soldiers, active duty Soldiers, do whatever you have to do. Just make sure it’s safe.’”
So the Trump administration’s response to Jan. 6 in getting National Guard on the scene was quick, based on the time needed to activate them. Trump wanted more troops on hand in the first place, but that is not something the House Sergeant-at-Arms, who works for Pelosi, or Mayor Bowser wanted.
Pelosi herself admitted on camera that she should have insisted that the National Guard was on hand in large numbers in the first place.
“I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more,” she said on Jan. 6, referring to the Capitol Police, as she was being evacuated from the Capitol.
🚨 Since January 6, 2021, Nancy Pelosi spent 3+ years and nearly $20 million creating a narrative to blame Donald Trump.
NEW FOOTAGE shows on January 6, Pelosi ADMITTED:
“I take responsibility.”
WATCH: pic.twitter.com/95a0totTWB
— Oversight Subcommittee (@OversightAdmn) June 10, 2024
Turning to Trump’s response to the protests/riots in Los Angeles: They began Friday. Trump gave California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass two days to get the situation in hand.
When they did not, he federalized units of the California National Guard on Saturday and then deployed them starting on Sunday. He also put the U.S. Marines on standby.
So Pelosi’s argument that Trump would not send in the National Guard on Jan. 6 does not stand up to the facts.
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