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.
Fact check: What's true about the Capitol riot, from antifa to BLM to Chuck Norris
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.
The Speaker of the House thanks the men and women of the National Guard for protecting the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/QwZlpeAWPp
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) January 13, 2021
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.”
Fact check: Image of Lauren Boebert at rally is from 2019, unrelated to U.S. Capitol riot
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.
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.
Fact check: The Insurrection Act is not in effect and is unnecessary in DC
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:
USA TODAY, Jan. 13, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thanks National Guard at Capitol before impeachment hearing"
Drew Hammill, Jan. 13, tweet
USA TODAY, Jan. 17, Email with Drew Hammill, Deputy Chief Of Staff at Office of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
USA TODAY, Jan. 15, "Over 20,000 National Guard troops to provide security against inauguration threats in Washington"
Guard News, Jan. 14, "More National Guard troops head to DC for inaugural support"
National Guard, accessed Jan. 19, "About Us"
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Post miscaptions photo of Pelosi thanking National Guard