Pelosi’s Response to January 6 Riots Draws Attention

On January 6, 2021, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visibly reacted with frustration when questioned about her decision not to involve the National Guard to safeguard the Capitol during the riots.

During an encounter with LindellTV reporter Alison Steinberg, who pressed her about potential accountability from the new January 6th Committee, Pelosi turned, gestured at Steinberg, and told him to “shut up.” She insisted, “I didn’t refuse to send in the National Guard. The president didn’t send them in. Why would you come here with Republican talking points as if you’re a serious journalist?”

In a June press conference, Pelosi accused then-President Donald Trump of rejecting requests to deploy the National Guard on that day. “On January 6th, amidst the violence against our Constitution and the Capitol, we pleaded with the President to send in the National Guard,” she said. “He wouldn’t do that.”

A fact-check by Breitbart News in May 2023 indicated that Trump had indeed offered the National Guard to Pelosi, who, as Speaker of the House, bore significant responsibility for Capitol security. This assertion emerged alongside Caitlan Collins’s claim that Trump never ordered the National Guard to the Capitol.

Breitbart’s findings showed that not only did Trump propose deploying the National Guard to Pelosi, but the administration also extended this offer to Washington, D.C.’s mayor. The idea was turned down, partly because Democrats had criticized Trump for a similar deployment to handle Black Lives Matter protests the previous summer. After the January 6th incident, Pelosi and her party later fortified the Capitol with barbed wire and military presence.

Though Collins expressed skepticism about Trump’s narrative, noting he didn’t issue a special deployment order, Trump clarified that such an order couldn’t feasibly be given. It would have been seen as an attempt to use military pressure on Congress during a critical electoral vote certification session.

A June 2024 statement from House Administration Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Still (R-Wis.) revealed that Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) had obtained video footage recorded by Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra, on January 6.

The subcommittee shared Alexandra Pelosi’s video, which was provided to them by HBO. In the footage, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged her accountability for the security failures that day, saying, “I take responsibility”.

Speaker Loudermilk emphasized that Pelosi admitted her role in the security lapses and her non-deployment of the National Guard. In the video, she questioned why the National Guard wasn’t present initially and remarked, “I’m responsible for not just preparing for war.”