The White House marked the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by launching a website accusing Democrats of rewriting the narrative and targeting “innocent” Americans.
Emblazoned across the website is a photo of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. Below her are photos of members of the House Jan. 6 committee, including Sen. Adam Schiff, California Democrat, Rep. Jamie Rasken, Maryland Democrat, and former Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican.
“The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protestors as ‘insurrectionists’ and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump – despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government,” the website states.
“In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissents, all while Pelosi’s own security lapses invited the chaos they exploited to seize and consolidate power,” the website said. “The gaslighting narrative allowed them to persecute innocent Americans, silence opposition and distract from their own role in undermining democracy.”
Also featured on the website is a video clip of Ms. Pelosi that was released last year. In the footage, Ms. Pelosi is talking to her chief of staff and blaming herself for not having the National Guard on hand at the Capitol.
“We did not have any accountability for what was going on there … and we should have,” Ms. Pelosi said. “Why weren’t the National Guard there to begin with. … I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more.”
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The video was shot by Ms. Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, for an HBO documentary. It was ultimately cut from the documentary and unaired until it was released by House Republicans.
Speaking at the House Republican lawmaker retreat on Tuesday, Mr. Trump placed the blame for the violence squarely on Ms. Pelosi, saying she would have accepted the National Guard.
“They never reported that Nancy Pelosi was offered 10,000 soldiers, National Guard soldiers, whatever you want,” Mr. Trump said.
He did an impression of Ms. Pelosi saying, “No, I don’t want them.”
A spokesperson for Ms. Pelosi said the president and the video clip posted on the website misrepresent her remarks.
“Numerous independent fact-checkers have confirmed again and again that Speaker Pelosi did not plan her own assassination on January 6th,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Cherry-picked, out-of-context clips do not change the fact that the speaker of the House is not in charge of the security of the Capitol Complex — on January 6th or any other day of the week. The ongoing attempts to whitewash the deadly insurrection are shameful, unpatriotic, and pathetic.”
Mr. Trump also took aim at the media, saying his words on that day were misrepresented. He noted that in his Jan. 6 speech, he called for his supporters to march “peacefully and patriotically.”
Mr. Trump is suing the British Broadcasting Corporation for billions over what the network has admitted was a misleading edit of the speech he gave on the Ellipse the day of the Capitol riot.
The BBC apologized for the edit, which made it appear Mr. Trump made a direct call for violent action, but rejected his demand for compensation.
Mr. Trump was impeached by Congress for his actions on that day, but acquitted by the Senate. Mr. Trump was also criminally charged for his actions leading up to the riot, but the charges were dropped following his November 2024 reelection.
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 people who had been charged in connection with the riot.
