Ever since President Trump federalized the National Guard to restore order in Los Angeles and protect federal officers from violent left-wing mobs, the left has been screeching the same tired lie: that Trump “refused” to send the Guard to the Capitol on January 6. It’s a narrative being pushed by Democrat hacks, legacy media mouthpieces, and keyboard warriors who conveniently ignore the facts. The truth? Trump absolutely did authorize and recommend the deployment of National Guard troops ahead of January 6—multiple times.
In fact, days before the riot, Trump personally requested 10,000 National Guard troops to be stationed at the Capitol due to concerns over crowd size. He made that clear the request was turned down because officials were more concerned about how the optics would play with the press than protecting the Capitol. So let’s stop pretending this was some kind of dereliction of duty. Trump saw the threat coming—and they ignored him.
But here’s where it really gets interesting. Just three days before the events of January 6, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund requested National Guard support—but was shot down because of politics. According to Sund’s testimony before a House subcommittee, House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving rejected the request, saying Speaker Nancy Pelosi would “never go for it.” Sund said Irving dismissed the idea over “optics” and claimed intelligence didn’t justify the move.
According to a timeline of the D.C. National Guard deployment on January 6, 2021, released by the House Administration's Subcommittee on Oversight, the chaos on January 6 wasn’t just a security failure—it was a breakdown of leadership driven by political hesitation and bureaucratic delays from Democrat officials and Pentagon brass.
Sund first requested National Guard support on January 3, 2021, but House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, who was appointed by Nancy Pelosi, rejected it, reportedly saying, “Pelosi will never go for it.” Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger echoed the concern. Sund later testified that Irving tipped off Stenger in advance to block the request.
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At the same time, President Trump had already approved the use of the D.C. National Guard. On January 3, he met with Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller and authorized Guard deployment. On January 5, he offered 10,000 troops, but the offer was declined.
Meanwhile, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had requested limited National Guard help for traffic control—but on January 5, she sent a letter to the Pentagon explicitly stating that no further law enforcement support was needed and discouraged additional deployments.
On January 6, after the first breach of the Capitol perimeter at 12:53 PM, Sund began urgently requesting Guard assistance. The Capitol Police Board didn’t approve it until 2:08 PM, and even then, the Pentagon stalled. Senior military officials, including Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn and Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, reportedly objected to the “optics” of deploying troops at the Capitol.
Although Miller gave verbal approval at 3:04 PM, Guard Commander Major General William Walker didn’t receive official orders to deploy until 5:08 PM. Guardsmen didn’t arrive at the Capitol until nearly 6 PM—hours after the violence had erupted.
The facts are clear: Trump authorized troops, Sund requested help, and yet Democrat leaders and Pentagon officials blocked or delayed every step.
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