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Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund criticized Rep. Nancy Pelosi on Monday, accusing the former House speaker of hypocrisy for attacking President Donald Trump over his recent decision to activate the D.C. National Guard.
Pelosi, who remains in Congress but lost the speaker’s gavel following the 2022 midterm elections, claimed Trump delayed the National Guard response during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake,” Pelosi wrote on X. “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.”
Her post followed renewed public attention to her role in the January 6 response after HBO released documentary footage filmed by her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi. In the video, Pelosi is seen acknowledging that her office shared responsibility for the lack of National Guard presence before the riot.
“We’re calling the National Guard now? They should have been here to start out,” Pelosi said in the footage. “How many times did members ask, are we prepared? Are we prepared? We’re not prepared for the worst… We will have totally failed. And we’ve got to take some responsibility.”
Sund, who served as Capitol Police chief during the attack, pushed back on Pelosi’s recent remarks, saying his early requests for National Guard assistance were rejected.
“Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people,” Sund posted on X. “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.”
Sund added that Carol Corbin, a Pentagon official, offered support from the National Guard on January 3, but he 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,” he continued. “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.”