Nancy Pelosi was not behind Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, despite repeated debunked claims

There is ample evidence that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a target of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, but none that she was responsible for the event during which five people died. 

A March 3 Facebook post said, "The face behind Jan. 6, 2021" with a black-and-white image of Pelosi, the California Democrat who was House speaker during the attack. The image appears to be the same one in a PBS "Frontline" video about how Pelosi responded as the Jan. 6 events unfolded.

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PolitiFact has debunked many claims about Pelosi and Jan. 6:

• That Jan. 6, 2021, footage of Pelosi shows the attack "was all planned" or was staged.

• That Pelosi called the shots for Capitol security officials that day.

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• That Pelosi gave a "shoot-to-kill order for any breach of the speaker’s lobby."

Some claims stemmed from the release of footage showing Pelosi speaking that day with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and then-Vice President Mike Pence. The claims falsely said that a "camera crew" following Pelosi around that day proved Jan. 6 was staged. 

But Pelosi was not followed by a "camera crew;" the footage was taken by her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, a documentary filmmaker who routinely shot videos of her mother at the Capitol using a small, handheld camera that she always carries. 

Multiple news organizations have also confirmed this, including Fox News, which reported that Alexandra Pelosi has filmed her mother at the Capitol for decades. 

Several news reports documented how Pelosi was a target for those who stormed the Capitol. Video footage shows some rioters saying, "Where are you, Nancy? We’re looking for you," before entering and looting her office. 

In the three years since the Capitol attack, PolitiFact has fact-checked numerous false claims about the attack. Fabrications about the attack were named PolitiFact’s 2021 Lie of the Year. The insurrection was a real event that has resulted in at least 1,265 individuals charged, with 718 guilty pleas and 467 people serving jail time for their roles in the attack as of January 2024.

We rate the claim that Pelosi is responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol False.