Steven Sund details 5 facts about J6 in Tucker interview: National Guard, Nancy Pelosi and 2020 riots
1. Requests for support made on Jan. 3 were denied
Sund told Carlson about federal law at the time, which required the Chief of the Capitol Police to go to “the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police Board in advance of an event to request federal resources such as the National Guard” as well as congressional leadership. He explained that he made such a request on Jan. 3, 2021, but was “denied twice because of optics and because [he was told] the intelligence didn’t support it.”
Sund elaborated on his reference to “optics,” which stemmed from concerns about the “look of the National Guard on the Hill.” Sund specifically pointed to then-House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving and then-Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger as those responsible for denying his repeated requests for the National Guard.
“Even while we’re under attack, I have to go to those same two people to request the National Guard to be brought in,” Sund said. He noted that the sergeant at arms of each respective chamber worked for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
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Even on the afternoon of Jan. 6, when Sund reached out to Irving as the attack began, the House sergeant at arms informed him that he had to “run it up the chain” while vowing, “I’ll get back to you.”
Sund answered in the affirmative when Carlson asked if “the chain” referred to Pelosi. He contended that permission from Pelosi was not necessary because “the law says in an emergency, he can grant me authorization.”
As riots on one side of the U.S. Capitol began to unfold shortly before 1 p.m., Sund recalled that he did not get approval to bring in the National Guard until 2:10 p.m. They didn't arrive until after 6 p.m., long after police officers who drove from New Jersey to assist had arrived.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
