Steven Sund, the former Chief of the United States Capitol Police, is accusing Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, of changing the story about what happened on January 6, 2021. Pelosi had criticized President Donald Trump this week for activating the D.C. National Guard.
Pelosi wrote on social media that Trump “delayed sending the National Guard on January 6 when the Capitol was under attack and people were in danger.” She said his recent order to send the Guard was a way to distract from his failures on issues like tariffs, healthcare, education, and immigration.
Sund, who was in charge of Capitol Police during the January 6 riot, disagreed strongly. He said Pelosi refused his multiple requests for help from the National Guard before and during the attack.
He wrote, “It’s time to be honest with the American people.”
Sund explained that on January 3, he asked for National Guard support, but Pelosi’s Sergeant at Arms said no. Federal law said Sund couldn’t call the Guard himself without approval. Later, the Pentagon also offered help, but Sund couldn’t accept because he didn’t have the authority. On January 6, while the attack was happening, Sund said he made urgent calls for help for more than an hour, but again the Sergeant at Arms refused until Pelosi gave approval.
He added, “When it suited you, you ordered fencing and thousands of armed troops around the Capitol, but when I needed help during the attack, it was denied.”
Sund has said before that Pelosi is trying to blame Trump unfairly for the delay in sending the Guard. He said he made 11 urgent calls for help on January 6, but had to wait 71 minutes for approval. His requests before the rally were denied every time. He also said federal law required him to get approval from the Capitol Police Board, which included Pelosi’s Sergeant at Arms and the Senate Majority Leader.
In sworn testimony, Sund also blamed the Pentagon for being slow to send the Guard because they worried about how it looked. He said he had to keep asking the Pentagon for help and was refused because of “optics” concerns.
Sund also shared video from Pelosi’s daughter showing Pelosi taking responsibility for not having enough Guard troops during the evacuation.
Pelosi, however, still says Trump refused to send the Guard when asked on January 6. She said, “We begged the President to send the National Guard. He would not do it that day.”
This disagreement comes as Trump’s recent order to activate the D.C. National Guard has upset many Democratic leaders and brought back arguments over who is responsible for what happened on January 6.
