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As a mob infiltrated the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was walking at a measured speed and talking with just as much purpose, descending level after level into the besieged building as her security detail sorted out the next steps out of there. What was supposed to be a routine ceremony had become one of the darkest days in American history. Despite the chaos unfolding around her, Pelosi never seemed like a leader in retreat. The steely resolve that would become her trademark was clearly visible in footage taken that day by her daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi.

“The proceedings are proceeding?” she asked her aides. “If they s

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