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Nancy Pelosi was not behind Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, despite repeated debunked claims
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Fact-checkers have debunked many claims about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. There is ample evidence that Pelosi was a target of the attack and none that she was responsible for the event.
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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.
This Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
PolitiFact has debunked many claims about Pelosi and Jan. 6:
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That Jan. 6, 2021, footage of Pelosi shows the attack "was all planned" or was staged.
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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.
Our Sources
Facebook post, March 3, 2024
Fox News, Reporter's Notebook: Journeys with Nancy – and her daughter, Oct. 18, 2022
The New York Times, Alexandra Pelosi on Filming Her Mother, Nancy Pelosi, During the Jan. 6 Attack, Dec. 12, 2022
PolitiFact, "The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance" Dec. 15, 2021
PolitiFact, "The Jan. 6 Capitol attack: A year of debunking false narratives," Jan. 4, 2022
PolitiFact, "New footage of Pelosi on Jan. 6, 2021, doesn't prove the attack on the Capitol was planned" June 6, 2023
PolitiFact, "Video footage of Pelosi and Schumer on Jan. 6 doesn’t prove the Capitol attack was a setup" Oct. 17, 2022
ABC News, "3 years later, Jan. 6 by the numbers: More than 1,200 charged, more than 460 imprisoned for role in Capitol attack," Jan. 5, 2024
PBS Frontline, "‘A White-Knuckle Moment’ for Democracy: How Nancy Pelosi Responded as Jan. 6 and Its Aftermath Unfolded," March 22, 2022
New York Times, "He Looted Speaker Pelosi’s Office, and then bragged about it," Jan. 6, 2021
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Nancy Pelosi was not behind Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, despite repeated debunked claims
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