House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview published Wednesday that if rioters had encountered her during their breach of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, they would have met a “street fighter” giving them all they could handle.
“That’s what they were setting out to do,” Pelosi told USA Today in stating that rioters planned to get to her and other political leaders including Vice President Mike Pence.
What would have happened if they succeeded, the California Democrat was asked.
“Well, I’m pretty tough. I’m a street fighter. They would have had a battle on their hands,” Pelosi, 81, added.
As rioters entered the building on the day Congress was meeting to certify the electoral college ballots for then-President-elect Joe Biden, congressional members were evacuated, some in gas masks, after Capitol Police were unable to stop the crowd.
One of the people who breached the Capitol, Richard “Bigo” Barnett, was pictured in a photo that went viral with one of his feet up on Pelosi’s desk. He was reportedly carrying a stun gun at the time.
Barnett and several others arrested in connection with the riot remain behind bars, according to reports. There have been complaints from some of them that they are being mistreated by guards at the Washington, D.C. jail where they are being held.
“Myself and others involved in the Jan. 6 incident are scared for their lives, not from each other but from correctional officers,” Ronald Sandlin said during a bail hearing by video before U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich last week.
Regarding the riot, reports on Wednesday revealed that there was much more planning involved than previously known and that Capitol Police were aware of what was coming but were nonetheless told to stand down by commanders.
“A new report by the Capitol Police’s internal watchdog found that department leaders overlooked key intelligence in the run-up to the riot on Jan. 6, including a warning that ‘Congress itself is the target,’ and barred the force’s riot response unit from using its most powerful crowd-control measures,” The New York Times reported.
Capitol riot ‘stand down’ confirmed: IG report finds U.S. Capitol Police were warned multiple times https://t.co/UQzFRPJ23E pic.twitter.com/vc29uEUB75
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) April 14, 2021
“The 104-page document, entitled ‘Review of the Events Surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Takeover of the U.S. Capitol,’ is the most searing portrait yet of the lapses and miscalculations around the most violent attack on the Capitol in two centuries,” The Times continued. “It adds significant new detail not unearthed in congressional hearings and is likely to inform a coming overhaul of the agency promised by lawmakers.”
To that point, Pelosi has been singled out by Republicans for lax security the day of the riot, since she is largely responsible for it as House Speaker.
In mid-February, a group of GOP lawmakers questioned in a letter to Pelosi why key security requests including pre-positioning of National Guard troops were either discounted or turned down altogether.
“Five weeks have passed since the January 6th attack on the Capitol building, and many important questions about your responsibility for the security of the Capitol remain unanswered,” read the letter, which also contained several questions the lawmakers wanted to be answered.
Meanwhile, Twitter users seemed amused at the idea of Pelosi taking on the rioters as a “street fighter.”
She losing
— B Neal (@bcneal14) April 14, 2021
What are “Things I’d pay money to see?” Alex?
— Andy Sims Could Stand To Lose Some Weight 🏴☠️ (@kb0oty) April 14, 2021
Pelosi must be drunk again. She’s a street fighter?? https://t.co/xZzYaZEW31 pic.twitter.com/oG0He5boP8
— Shannon (@ozarkmomma2A) April 14, 2021
If Pelosi is a street fighter, then I’m a professional juggler, working part time as a super hero🥴
— Sin (it/its)Plans to Expose WWASPS🔞 (@ItIsInABand) April 14, 2021
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
[email protected]
Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
- Jan. 6 committee chair Benny Thompson offers a stunning take on potential Trump criminal actions - January 2, 2022
- Life-long New Yorker posts ‘sad’ Twitter ode on post-pandemic Big Apple being ‘shadow of its former self’ - January 2, 2022
- NYPD officer shot in head in police lot as he slept in vehicle between shifts - January 2, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
