Guardians

Guardians: Stories of the 2020 Civil Unrest in Washington, D.C., is a new first-hand account from Air National Guardsman Julia Maki Pyrah, who describes her experiences on the streets of DC protecting the people of our nation’s capital and their right to assemble, while attempting to stop the destruction of monuments and local businesses from those that were looking to cause them harm.

Maki, a Navy veteran that now serves in the DC Air National Guard, shares in candid detail her view of the events from a unique perspective on the streets of D.C. “The normal complement of Secret Service in and around the White House, combined with the Metropolitan Police and Park Police were not going to cut it. They needed more support… and quickly,” explains Maki.

As she continues her duties and notices small acts of defiance by groups of people prior to riot escalation, she remarks, “It was a small rebellion of sorts, the beginning of people becoming untouchable by authorities.” With contributions from other Guardsmen in her unit, she describes the reality of the challenges that were faced by putting her suburb-mom life on hold, as duty called during this unusual activation of Guardsmen from all over the country.

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