Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has reignited a fierce debate over who bears responsibility for the delayed National Guard response during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. His pointed accusations against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) cut through years of carefully crafted political narratives.
According to the Washington Examiner, Sund claims Pelosi’s office repeatedly blocked his requests for Guard assistance before and during the violent attack. He argues that her recent criticism of President Donald Trump’s handling of the situation is a brazen attempt to rewrite history.
Pelosi took to social media on Monday, asserting that Trump “delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake.” Her words paint a picture of presidential inaction, but Sund’s response suggests the brushstrokes of blame should point elsewhere.
On January 3, days before the rally that spiraled into chaos, Sund requested National Guard support, only to have it denied by Pelosi’s Sergeant at Arms. He notes that federal law barred him from calling in troops without specific approval from the Capitol Police Board, which included officials reporting directly to Pelosi.
That same day, Pentagon official Carol Corbin offered Guard assistance, but Sund had to decline due to a lack of legal authority. His hands were tied by bureaucratic red tape while the storm brewed on the horizon.
By January 6, as violence erupted at the Capitol, Sund made 11 urgent calls for help starting at 12:58 p.m., yet approval was withheld for over 70 minutes. He describes the agonizing wait as the Sergeant at Arms “ran it up the chain” for Pelosi’s nod, leaving officers and lawmakers vulnerable.
Sund’s public rebuttal didn’t stop at procedural failures; he directly challenged Pelosi’s claim that Trump alone stalled reinforcements. “Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people,” he wrote, laying bare a pattern of denial from her office that he says cost precious time.
Footage from Pelosi’s daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, recorded during the evacuation, appears to show the former Speaker admitting, “I take responsibility.” If accurate, this clip undermines her current stance of pointing fingers solely at Trump for the Guard’s delayed arrival.
Pelosi, however, remains steadfast, insisting in recent remarks that Trump refused to act when begged to send help on that fateful day. Her narrative of a derelict president clashes sharply with Sund’s account of being stonewalled by her own chain of command.
Sund also testified in 2023 that Pentagon officials hesitated to deploy the Guard due to concerns over “optics” of troops on Capitol Hill. He recalled begging Army Lt. Gen. Piatt for assistance, only to be denied while D.C. Guard members stood within eyesight of the besieged building.
This hesitation, Sund argues, compounded the chaos already fueled by earlier rejections from Pelosi’s team. The focus on public perception over immediate security left law enforcement scrambling against an overwhelming mob.
While Pelosi has accused Trump of dodging accountability, Sund’s sworn statements suggest a broader web of institutional failures. His frustration is palpable when he recounts how, post-riot, Pelosi ordered fencing and thousands of Guard troops to surround the Capitol when it suited her needs.
As this clash resurfaces amid Trump’s recent activation of the D.C. National Guard as part of a federal takeover of local police, Democrats in Washington and Maryland have voiced sharp opposition. The move has reopened old wounds, with Jan. 6 accountability debates once again taking center stage.
Sund’s persistent challenge to Pelosi’s version of events raises hard questions about who truly held the reins when disaster struck. If his timeline holds, the delay wasn’t just a failure of one man but a systemic breakdown under political gatekeepers.
Years after the Capitol was breached, the American public deserves clarity over finger-pointing. Sund’s call for honesty isn’t just a jab at Pelosi; it’s a demand to stop using tragedy as a political pawn in a game of endless blame.
