Julia Maki Pyrah and Nicholas Cotroneo are coauthors of the recently released book, Guardians: Stories of the 2020 Civil Unrest in Washington. Their book describes Julia’s firsthand experience as a member of the DC Air National Guard, and her deployment in response to the violent riots in Washington DC, this past June.
Julia Maki Pyrah and Nicholas Cotroneo are coauthors of the recently released book, Guardians: Stories of the 2020 Civil Unrest in Washington. Their book describes Julia’s firsthand experience as a member of the DC Air National Guard, and her deployment in response to the violent riots in Washington DC, this past June.
The orders Julia and the rest of the National Guard received were to protect the protestors who were exercising their right to peacefully assemble. But when the protests ended in the evening, the riots began, and Julia found herself on the front lines of violent social unrest. Today, Julia is back on duty in DC as part of the National Guard presence on display for weeks.
In this episode, Julia, a seasoned Navy veteran as well as a current National Guardsman and DOD employee and Nick, who is also a military veteran and current DOD employee, compare and contrast the June and January protests and violence. They break down the reality of the National Guard presence as compared to the media’s reporting, and talk about what it’s like to be on the front lines of violent unrest.
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