The political storm over the events of January 6, 2021, has been reignited, and this time it is former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund who is leading the charge.
In a blistering statement, Sund directly refuted claims made by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, accusing her of hypocrisy, misinformation, and failure to act when the Capitol needed protection most.
His words have intensified an already contentious debate about who bears responsibility for the delayed deployment of the National Guard that day, a question that has lingered for years.
The controversy resurfaced after Pelosi criticized President Donald Trump for taking direct control of the Metropolitan Police Department and activating the D.C. National Guard as part of a sweeping crackdown on violent crime in Washington, D.C.
Calling Trump’s move a political distraction, Pelosi accused him of hypocrisy, saying he “delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake.”
Pelosi’s remarks were pointed, painting Trump as reckless during the riot and opportunistic now. But they quickly drew fire from Sund, who resigned after the January 6 attack but has since spoken repeatedly about the security failures that preceded the riot.
“Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people,” Sund declared in his rebuttal. He detailed how on January 3, just three days before the riot, he formally requested National Guard support. That request, he says, was denied by the House Sergeant at Arms — an official who reported directly to Pelosi.
“Under federal law, I was prohibited from calling them in without specific approval,” Sund explained. He further revealed that the Pentagon had offered support through a contact named Carol Corbin, but he was forced to decline because he did not have the legal authority.
When January 6 arrived and chaos engulfed the Capitol, Sund said he once again pleaded for the Guard. This time, his repeated requests were delayed for more than 70 minutes as the Sergeant at Arms “ran it up the chain” to Pelosi.
The delay, Sund argues, left his officers without crucial reinforcements at the worst possible moment.
Sund went further, accusing Pelosi of hypocrisy. “When I needed assistance, it was denied,” he said. “Yet when it suited you, you ordered fencing topped with concertina wire and surrounded the Capitol with thousands of armed National Guard troops.”
His charge was clear: Pelosi, while quick to invoke extraordinary security measures after the riot, had failed to act when it could have prevented the Capitol breach in the first place.
For Sund, this double standard exposed the political gamesmanship surrounding January 6 and placed Pelosi squarely in the middle of the failures.
Adding fuel to the fire are comments caught on camera the very day of the riot. Pelosi’s daughter filmed her mother for an HBO documentary, capturing the Speaker saying she wanted Trump to come to the Capitol so she could “punch him out” and “go to jail happy.”
The remarks, widely circulated by CNN, were meant to show Pelosi’s toughness in the face of danger, but critics now argue they reveal misplaced priorities.
If Pelosi was “waiting” to confront Trump, Sund and others have asked, why was she not waiting to authorize the National Guard to secure the building? The juxtaposition of her fiery rhetoric with the lack of action remains one of the more puzzling elements of that day.
The timing of Pelosi’s comments and Sund’s rebuttal adds another layer of irony. On Monday, Trump called his D.C. crackdown “liberation day,” promising to rid the capital of “violent gangs and drugged-out maniacs.”
The move gives him direct control of the Metropolitan Police Department for 30 days under the Home Rule Act, and National Guard troops are set to be deployed as “force multipliers” for local law enforcement.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the takeover “unsettling and unprecedented” but said she would comply. Yet her critics quickly noted that she had discouraged federal law enforcement presence ahead of January 6, even writing a letter to federal officials insisting no additional deployments were needed.
For many observers, the contrast was striking: leaders who once resisted federal reinforcements are now protesting Trump for providing them.
At the core of this renewed fight is the unresolved question of who was truly responsible for the delay in sending National Guard reinforcements on January 6.
Democrats have long blamed Trump, claiming he personally refused to authorize troops as the violence escalated. Trump and his allies counter that he had pre-authorized up to 10,000 troops days before, and that it was congressional leadership — including Pelosi’s office — that prevented their use.
Sund’s testimony adds weight to the latter argument. His account suggests that Capitol Police were ready to accept help, but legal restrictions tied their hands, leaving the ultimate decision with congressional leaders who hesitated at a critical moment.
The renewed focus on Pelosi’s role could have significant political consequences. For years, Democrats have built a narrative around Trump’s culpability, portraying him as the primary obstacle to securing the Capitol.
Sund’s testimony complicates that story, raising questions about Pelosi’s responsibility and whether partisan motives influenced her decisions.
Pelosi’s critics argue that she has sought to rewrite history, blaming Trump while avoiding accountability for her own role in the security failures. Supporters counter that Sund is deflecting blame to protect Trump and rehabilitate his own reputation after being forced to resign.
Regardless, the fact remains that the security breakdown on January 6 was catastrophic, and the finger-pointing shows no signs of stopping.
With Trump now back in the Oval Office and asserting emergency control over Washington’s streets, the January 6 debate has returned to the forefront of national politics. His new actions in deploying the Guard stand in sharp contrast to the narrative that he withheld them, and Sund’s comments reinforce that contradiction.
As Trump warned that New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles could be next for similar crackdowns, his supporters celebrated the move as long overdue. His detractors decried it as authoritarian overreach.
But for Sund, the moment provided a platform to challenge Pelosi directly, accusing her of hypocrisy and dishonesty about one of the darkest days in modern American history.
The battle over the truth of January 6 is far from over. Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund’s explosive remarks have reopened old wounds and cast new doubt on the official narratives advanced by Democratic leaders.
By directly accusing Nancy Pelosi of blocking the Guard and then exploiting security measures when it suited her, Sund has shifted the spotlight back onto congressional leadership’s role in the security breakdown.
As Trump flexes his authority in Washington and critics scramble to respond, one thing is clear: January 6 will remain a central flashpoint in American politics.
The fight over who failed, who acted, and who should be held accountable is as fierce today as it was in the days immediately following the attack. And with Sund refusing to stay silent, Pelosi’s role in the chaos is once again under the microscope.
