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Fact check: Did polesi call the national guard on Jan 6
1. Summary of the results
The evidence conclusively shows that Nancy Pelosi did NOT call the National Guard on January 6th, as she did not have the authority to do so. Multiple sources confirm that only three entities have the power to activate the D.C. National Guard: the president, the defense secretary, and the U.S. Army secretary [1]. The D.C. National Guard reports exclusively to the President of the United States [2].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual points need to be considered:
- Rather than blocking deployment, Pelosi actually approved a request to seek National Guard support and actively pushed for troops to be deployed when their arrival was delayed [1]
- The Capitol Police Board, not Congress, makes decisions about National Guard deployment [3]
- Both Pelosi and Chuck Schumer actively appealed to military leaders to deploy the National Guard once the attack was underway [3]
- One perspective suggests there were "complex interactions" between Capitol Police, Pentagon officials, and political leadership regarding National Guard support [4]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The question itself reflects a common misconception about the chain of command and authority regarding the D.C. National Guard. This misunderstanding has been exploited for political purposes:
- The Associated Press has explicitly rated claims about Pelosi blocking the National Guard as "False" [3]
- The narrative suggesting Congressional Democrats impeded National Guard deployment [4] benefits those seeking to deflect responsibility for the delayed response on January 6th
- The confusion about command authority may serve political interests trying to shift blame to Congressional leadership rather than focusing on those who actually had deployment authority
- The question itself perpetuates a fundamental misunderstanding of how the D.C. National Guard command structure operates, as no member of Congress has this authority [1]