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Fact check: Photo captures House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thanking National Guard

The claim: Photo captures Speaker Nancy Pelosi reviewing her troops before Inauguration Day

As tens of thousands of troops guard the nation’s capital to ensure a peaceful transition of power, a viral photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thanking those soldiers is being misrepresented online to falsely warn of potential military conflict.

“Pelosi reviews her troops. Is this what we have come to?” Facebook page RockIt News captioned the photo in a Jan. 16 post.

The post has received more than 12,000 reactions, 8,000 comments and 4,000 shares. Facebook users quickly expressed support for the notion that Pelosi was preparing troops for some sort of partisan military mission ahead of Inauguration Day.

“Though the military wasn’t going to get involved in political affairs!!!” one user commented.

“Lord help the troops She will have them killed, Her directions would be VERY DANGEOUS to go by,” another wrote.

USA TODAY could not contact Rockit News for comments because its Facebook page has no contact information and its website is unresponsive.

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Members of Virginia National Guard walk by the U.S. Capitol on Jan 17, 2021 in Washington, D.C. According to reports, as many as 25,000 National Guard soldiers will be guarding the city as preparations are made for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. President.
Members of Virginia National Guard walk by the U.S. Capitol on Jan 17, 2021 in Washington, D.C. According to reports, as many as 25,000 National Guard soldiers will be guarding the city as preparations are made for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. President.

Pelosi was thanking National Guard

Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff and longtime spokesperson Drew Hammill took the photo and shared it on Twitter on Jan. 13.

“The Speaker of the House thanks the men and women of the National Guard for protecting the U.S. Capitol,” he wrote.

Hammill confirmed in an email to USA TODAY that the photo does not capture Pelosi commanding troops.

“I took the photo,” he wrote. “She’s thanking them in brief remarks.”

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Pelosi does not command troops

Washington is hosting over 20,000 National Guard troops in the days surrounding President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration as a security measure activated by the Department of Homeland Security.

The operation includes troops blocking off access to the White House and U.S. Capitol, where Biden and Harris are to be sworn in.

Hundreds of National Guard members were at the U.S. Capitol for security as the House prepared to vote on impeaching President Donald Trump.
Hundreds of National Guard members were at the U.S. Capitol for security as the House prepared to vote on impeaching President Donald Trump.

The U.S. Secret Service, National Park Service and U.S. Capitol Police requested National Guard support; troops have come from all 50 states, three U.S. territories and Washington, D.C.

Pelosi did not call in, nor does she command, these troops. State governors and the president can activate the National Guard for both state and federal missions.

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This extensive security measure comes after rioters breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, while Congress certified Biden and Harris’ victory.

Our ruling: False

We rate the claim that a viral image shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi commanding troops outside the Capitol as FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Pelosi's office, which took and released the photo, confirmed with USA TODAY that the speaker was thanking the National Guard. The National Guard is in Washington, D.C., at the request of the Department of Homeland Security.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Post miscaptions photo of Pelosi thanking National Guard