House Republicans Expose Pelosi’s Culpability In Jan. 6 Riot

Democrat leaders who had condemned crackdowns on the violent Black Lives Matter riots of 2020 were too worried about “optics” to appropriately prepare for the massive protests at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a lengthy new report about the security failures on that day. GOP lawmakers, who were prevented from collaborating on preparations for the joint session of Congress, found Capitol Police were left untrained to handle mass demonstrations while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was personally involved in security decisions that left the complex vulnerable to unrest.

The more than 140-page report, completed by an independent probe of GOP lawmakers who were barred access to material from Pelosi’s Select Committee on Jan. 6, illustrated a Capitol police force left understaffed, ill-equipped, and unprepared to confront the horde of demonstrators who descended on the congressional campus.

“Democrats and the Jan. 6 Committee used the Capitol Police as a political prop, then did nothing when USCP officers were harassed for telling the truth. They should be ashamed,” Indiana Rep. Jim Banks told The Federalist. Banks led the GOP investigation after Speaker Pelosi barred him from his appointment as ranking member of the select committee.

House Republicans documented how Pelosi’s office closely coordinated with senior security staff before the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress, where lawmakers would ceremonially certify the results of the 2020 election. While large-scale political events such as presidential inaugurations and state of the union addresses are designated as “National Special Security Events” by the nation’s top security brass, enhanced measures for public safety were absent on Jan. 6.

Democrats, including Pelosi’s staff, were reportedly concerned about the “optics” of a ramped-up police presence reinforced by National Guard troops to protect the Capitol. According to former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who resigned in the riot’s aftermath, Pelosi’s deputies turned down requests for preemptive deployment of the National Guard six times in the run-up to Jan. 6, 2021.

Just over a month after the riot, Pelosi sought to exonerate herself by telling reporters, “I have no power over the Capitol police.”

“This is false,” Republicans stated, pointing to documents and witness testimony throughout their report showing how “then-House Sergeant of Arms Paul Irving carried out his duties in clear deference to the Speaker, her staff, and other Democratic staff.” House rules dictate that the sergeant at arms reports to the speaker, which has continued after the Jan. 6 riot with the installation of magnetometers outside the lower chamber and the erection of a perimeter fence around the complex at Pelosi’s direction.

Democrats’ reluctance to preemptively deploy the National Guard ahead of mass demonstrations, when even Capitol parking attendants had warned of disturbances, stemmed from Democratic lawmakers’ opposition to police the prior summer. Pelosi and House Democrats had previously condemned the presence of federal troops in the nation’s capital to quell the violent mobs that overran the city in the name of social justice.

Irving, according to the GOP report, routinely met with Democratic staff in the

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases