Fact check: Who had authority to deploy the National Guard on January 6th 2021?

1. Summary of the results

The authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard was specifically limited to three positions:

• The President
• The Secretary of Defense
• The U.S. Army Secretary ^{[1] [2]}

On January 6th, 2021, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller ultimately provided verbal approval for full activation at 3:04 PM ^[2]. The deployment process involved multiple key figures, including General Mark Milley and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements were not addressed in the original question:

• Pre-January 6th Requests:
• Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund requested National Guard support on January 3rd, but was rejected by House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving due to "optics" concerns ^[3]
• The Capitol Police Board denied a state of emergency request on January 4th ^[2]
• Trump's Role:
• According to some sources, Trump had allegedly requested 10,000 National Guard troops days before the riot, but this request was turned down ^[3]
• However, the House select committee's 18-month investigation concluded that Trump did not give the order to deploy the Guard on January 6th itself ^{[1] [4]}
• Congressional Leadership's Role:
• While Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders were involved in discussions, they had no actual authority to deploy the National Guard ^[1]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question's simplicity could lead to misconceptions about:

1. Chain of Command: While the authority technically resided with only three positions, the actual deployment process was more complex, involving multiple requests and decisions from various officials ^[2]

2. Competing Narratives: Different political groups benefit from different interpretations:

• Those supporting Trump emphasize his alleged pre-riot request for troops ^[3]
• Trump's critics point to the House select committee's conclusion that he didn't order deployment during the actual crisis ^[4]
• Local D.C. officials, including Mayor Bowser, made requests that were initially denied, highlighting the complexity of the command structure ^[2]