Fact check: At the jan 6 Capitol attack, what were the set of events which led to the delay in calling out the national guard?

1. Summary of the results

The delay in calling out the National Guard during the January 6 Capitol attack resulted from a complex web of bureaucratic failures, conflicting authorities, and communication breakdowns. Multiple sources reveal that former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund requested National Guard assistance six times before and during the attack, but these requests were repeatedly denied or delayed by security officials at the House and Senate ^[1].

The timeline shows that initially, 340 National Guardsmen were deployed for limited duties like traffic control, but when protests escalated into violence, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested additional assistance, prompting Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller to immediately call up 1,100 members of the D.C. National Guard ^[2]. However, the Capitol Police had not anticipated the level of violence and did not request National Guard support until after the breach occurred ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal significant contradictory narratives about responsibility for the delay:

Trump Administration Perspective: Sources indicate that President Trump met with senior Pentagon leaders before January 6 and directed them to ensure the event was safe, including using the National Guard. However, Pentagon leaders allegedly ignored this directive and prioritized concerns about optics over their duty to protect lives ^{[4] [5]}. This viewpoint suggests the delay was due to Pentagon leadership's failure to follow presidential directives.

Institutional Failure Perspective: The DoD IG report contains flaws and inconsistencies in Secretary McCarthy's testimony, which contributed to the National Guard delay ^[5]. This suggests systemic problems within the Department of Defense's decision-making process.

Authority and Jurisdiction Issues: The National Guard didn't respond initially because they were not invited by the Capitol Police, as the Guard had been requested by Mayor Bowser only to support local police with limited roles ^[3]. This highlights the complex jurisdictional boundaries between federal, district, and Capitol security forces.

Political stakeholders who benefit from different narratives include:

• Republican leadership who would benefit from the narrative that Trump proactively ordered security measures
• Pentagon officials who would benefit from narratives that minimize their responsibility
• Democratic leadership who would benefit from narratives emphasizing Trump administration failures

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question appears neutral and factual, seeking information about the sequence of events rather than making claims. However, it may inadvertently frame the issue as a simple "delay" when the analyses reveal multiple simultaneous failures across different agencies and levels of government ^{[6] [5] [1]}.

The question doesn't acknowledge that there were conflicting accounts about whether requests were made, denied, or ignored entirely, which could lead to oversimplified explanations of what was actually a multi-layered institutional breakdown involving the Capitol Police, Pentagon leadership, House and Senate security officials, and the D.C. government.