U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund publicly pushed back against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s claims that former President Donald Trump delayed the deployment of the National Guard on January 6, 2021. Pelosi had criticized Trump for activating the D.C. Guard in a new federal crackdown on crime, accusing him of using it to distract from his policy failures. But Sund, who oversaw Capitol security during the riot, rejected her claims, calling them a false narrative.

Sund stated that he had formally requested National Guard support three days before the Capitol riot, on January 3, 2021. He said that request was denied by Pelosi’s own Sergeant at Arms. “Under federal law, I was prohibited from calling them in without specific approval,” Sund explained. Even when the Pentagon offered assistance, Sund said he was forced to decline due to a lack of legal authority.

On January 6, as violence erupted, Sund said he made repeated, urgent requests for National Guard assistance — but was stalled for more than an hour. He accused Pelosi of hypocrisy, pointing out that after the riot, she had no issue authorizing thousands of National Guard troops and fencing to protect the Capitol. “When I needed assistance, it was denied,” Sund wrote.

Meanwhile, Trump’s recent federal law enforcement initiative in Washington, D.C., has shown immediate impact. In the first full week under federal control, property crime dropped by 19 percent, and violent crime fell by 17 percent, according to Metropolitan Police Department data.

Immigration enforcement also increased sharply. ICE arrested approximately 300 individuals without legal status — a tenfold increase over the usual weekly average. The White House praised the effort, calling the drop in crime “life-changing” for D.C. residents and reaffirming its focus on removing violent offenders, regardless of immigration status.