Claim: “On January 6th… we asked the President of the United States to send the National Guard. He didn’t do that.”
Verdict: False. Trump had offered the National Guard in advance, but Democrats declined.
During a recent press conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) asserted that President Trump did not send in the National Guard to safeguard the Capitol during the events of January 6, 2021.
She aimed to highlight what she viewed as Trump’s neglect in ensuring the Capitol’s safety, contrasting it with his seeming eagerness to deploy the California State Guard federally to control unrest in Los Angeles.
Speaking alongside other Democrats from California, she remarked that the president should halt immigration enforcement as a condition for stopping the violence, hinting at justifying the riots.
Pelosi reiterated several inaccuracies, including claims that the January 6 incident resulted in the deaths of law enforcement personnel. Nevertheless, her central argument revolved around Trump’s alleged inaction regarding the National Guard.
This assertion is inaccurate, as previously noted by Breitbart News. In May 2023, they clarified:
In fact, Trump had offered the National Guard to Pelosi, who had significant responsibility for Capitol security during the incident. His administration also made provisions for a National Guard response to the mayor of Washington, DC, which Democrats declined after criticizing Trump for similar requests during previous unrest. (In the aftermath of the January 6 riot, Pelosi and the Democrats proceeded to encircle the Capitol with barbed wire and military personnel.)
Moreover, video footage has surfaced showing Pelosi acknowledging her and her party’s responsibility for Capitol security. Neither she nor her chosen Jan. 6 committee presented crucial evidence related to this accountability.
While Pelosi and the Democrats label the Capitol events as “riots,” many participants thought they were protecting democracy rather than trying to dismantle it. Trump uses similar rhetoric to describe mob attacks on federal properties, as well as ongoing resistance to federal immigration laws driven by Democrats.
