Fact check: How long did it take for National Guard to arrive at the Capitol on January 6th?

1. Summary of the results

The National Guard arrived at the Capitol at approximately 5:40 PM on January 6th ^{[1] [2]}. This was roughly 3-4 hours after the initial breach of the Capitol, which occurred around 2:00 PM ^{[1] [2]}. By the time the Guard arrived, most of the violence had already subsided ^[1].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The delay was caused by a complex series of bureaucratic challenges:

• Initial request for assistance was made by Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund at 1:09 PM ^[1]
• Formal approval to deploy came at 2:10 PM ^[1]
• Full mobilization was approved at 3:04 PM by Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller ^{[1] [3]}

Several factors contributed to the delayed response:

• Senior military officials expressed concerns about "optics" ^[4]
• A 90-minute delay in obtaining Pentagon approval ^[5]
• An additional 30-minute delay in communicating that approval to the Guard's commanding officer ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

There are conflicting accounts regarding responsibility for the delay:

• Christopher Miller claims Major General William J. Walker had earlier deployment authority but didn't use it ^[3]
• Senator Amy Klobuchar's testimony highlighted that the D.C. National Guard commander had to wait three hours for authorization ^[5]

The simple question of "how long" obscures the complex chain of command issues and multiple decision points that affected the response time. Different officials and agencies have provided varying accounts of the timeline, potentially to deflect responsibility for the delayed response. The Pentagon's concerns about "optics" ^[4] suggests that political considerations may have played a role in the delayed deployment, though this remains a matter of debate.