Former Capitol Police Chief Publicly

Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has challenged Nancy Pelosi’s account of

January 6, arguing that responsibility for security failures has been misrepresented.

Sund says he anticipated unrest days before the attack and formally requested National Guard support.

By law, that request had to be approved by the Capitol Police Board, which included the House Sergeant at Arms reporting to Pelosi.

According to Sund, the request was denied.

When the Pentagon later offered Guard assistance, Sund says he still lacked the authority to accept it without board approval.

Once the riot began, he describes more than an hour of

urgent pleas as officers were overwhelmed, with approval finally granted after roughly 70 minutes.

Sund contrasts this delay with the rapid authorization of a heavy military presence after the attack.

While his account does not absolve Donald Trump of criticism, it disputes claims that Trump alone blocked or delayed the Guard.

Instead, Sund’s testimony refocuses attention on where decision-making power actually lay—and how it failed at a critical moment.