Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long been associated with shaping the public narrative around January 6. But former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has reentered the conversation with his own documented account, challenging key assumptions about what happened behind the scenes.

Sund says he anticipated unrest days before January 6 and formally requested National Guard support. According to him, that request had to be approved by the Capitol Police Board, which included the House Sergeant at Arms reporting to Pelosi.

That request, Sund maintains, was denied. He has stated that even when the Pentagon later offered National Guard assistance, he lacked the legal authority to accept it without board approval.

As the riot unfolded, Sund describes a chaotic and dangerous situation. Officers were overwhelmed, and the Capitol was breached while he repeatedly sought authorization for Guard deployment.

He claims approval did not come until more than an hour after violence had already escalated. By that point, significant damage had been done and officers had been placed in serious danger.

After order was restored, a heavy military presence was rapidly approved around the Capitol. To Sund, the contrast between pre- and post-riot decision-making raises troubling questions.

Sund’s account does not absolve all parties of responsibility, nor does it claim a single cause for the failures of that day. Instead, it disputes the idea that one individual alone delayed or refused National Guard support.

Ultimately, his testimony shifts focus to structural authority and decision-making power. It challenges Washington to confront not just political narratives, but the systems and approvals that shaped the response when time mattered most.