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US Capitol Guard help request made: police

AAP
US Capitol Police acting chief Yogananda Pittman has testified before Congress.
Camera IconUS Capitol Police acting chief Yogananda Pittman has testified before Congress.

The acting chief of the US Capitol Police says mobile phone records back up the account of former chief Steven Sund that he repeatedly asked his superiors for National Guard help during the January 6 riots.

Testifying before Congress on Thursday, acting Chief Yogananda Pittman listed several times she says Sund called the sergeants-at-arms of the House and Senate as a violent mob was surging outside the Capitol building.

Pittman said Sund's phone records show he called former House sergeant-at-arms Paul Irving at 12.58pm to request the Guard, then called ex-Senate sergeant-at-arms Michael Stenger at 1.05pm.

Pittman said Sund made at least four more calls in the next 40 minutes.

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Sund and Irving disagreed earlier this week on when the chief asked for the Guard.

Sund testified he requested the Guard at 1.09pm while Irving denied receiving a call at that time.

The Guard didn't arrive for several hours, leaving overwhelmed Capitol Police officers fighting rioters who in some cases were better armed than they were.

Five people died in the riot, including a Capitol officer.

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