National Post (National Edition)
Ontario nurses were in D.C. on day of siege
Pair active in lockdown protests
TORONTO • Despite strict limits on non-essential travel between Canada and the United States, two Canadian nurses active in the so-called “anti-lockdown” movement made it to Washington for the Wednesday rally that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The women, Sarah Choujounian and Kristen Nagle, were part of a group of American and Canadian health-care professionals calling themselves the “Global Frontline Nurses” who gathered in Washington that day, according to a news release, video from the scene and social media posts.
In the hours before President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse, they held a small event in downtown Washington where both spoke. A live stream posted to Facebook by another nurse in the group that afternoon shows Choujounian on the steps of the Capitol amid a large crowd.
Though there is no evidence that either woman participated in the violence, their trip to Washington raises questions about loopholes in the rules governing travel between the United States and Canada during the coronavirus pandemic. It also offers a reminder of the deep ties between conspiratorial and far-right movements on both sides of the border.
Canada and the United States mutually agreed to close their land border to non-essential travel last March, and have extended the restrictions for 30-day increments ever since. The measures enjoy widespread support in Canada, and officials have indicated that they won’t be lifted anytime soon.
But they contain a loophole: Canadians can fly to the United States, including for non-essential travel, though they must quarantine for 14 days upon their re turn. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced pressure to tighten border restrictions, and this month, Canada began requiring all air travellers to provide a negative coronavirus test before entry.
At least one Canadian flag can be seen waving in photos and video of the mobbing of the Capitol building. The nurses posted a video in which they chatted with Sam, a man Nagle identified as a “fellow Canadian,” who was present at the Capitol building Wednesday. His identity could not be confirmed.
The identities of the two Canadian nurses who travelled to Washington were first reported by Justin Ling at Vice News. It is unclear how many Canadians were at the riot.
Jason Kung, a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, said that the agency is “not aware of the involvement or detention of any Canadian citizens in relation to the recent event on Capitol Hill.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it has “no information that Canadians were arrested as part of the events that unfolded last week” in Washington, and referred questions to U.S. law enforcement.
Neither Choujounian nor Nagle responded to requests for comment sent to their social media accounts.
Both women are under investigation by their regulatory body, the College of Nurses of Ontario said in a statement on Tuesday.
One of them, who is already suspended from her work in neonatal intensive care, is also facing an investigation by her hospital in London, Ont.
The London Health Science Centre said it had suspended Nagle without pay in November for attending an anti-masking rally in the southwestern Ontario city. An investigation was still ongoing into the earlier incident but the hospital said it was now aware of further actions “not aligned” with its values.
The hospital said it would likely complete its investigation within weeks.
Choujounian is listed as having worked at a longterm care home outside Toronto from 2007 to 2020, according to the regulatory body’s records. In video of the nurses’ event Wednesday, she said that she was fired because of her social media posts about coronavirus restrictions, such as lockdowns.
Her LinkedIn profile lists her job as “Life Coach.”
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, there’s been a surge of interest in conspiratorial content, much of it originating in the United States and adapting to local contexts as it spreads.
What ’s emerged is a sprawling movement that mixes vaccine hesitancy, coronavirus denial and far-right conspiracies, most notably QAnon. It has spurred “anti-lockdown” and “freedom” rallies around the world.
In Canada, the movement has led to rallies in cities across the country, including regular “anti-lockdown” events in downtown Toronto.
The Toronto event brings together a mix of anti-vaccine activists, small-business owners who oppose coronavirus restrictions and hardcore conspiracists who believe, despite zero evidence, that Trump is secretly waging war on an international cabal.
At an Oct. 24 rally in Toronto, a crowd of several hundred cheered speakers who downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and encouraged participants to ditch masks. Some participants carried Trump 2020 flags, others banners referencing such American conspiracies as “Pizzagate.”
The next week, Choujounian was a featured speaker, according to a video she posted on Instagram, opening her remarks with “Hello, freedom fighters!” and going on to compare coronavirus restrictions to “crimes against humanity.”
In November, N ag le helped organize a “freedom rally” in London, Ont., according to the CBC.
Her social media posts suggest links to the anti-vaccination movement and coronavirus denial. In a recent online panel posted to the Facebook page of a Canadian anti-vaccine group, she discussed her plans to travel to Washington on Tuesday and return Thursday.
In a video posted Thursday as she prepared to head back to Canada, Nagle accused the media of being “manipulative” and interviewed a man who described the previous day’s events, in which five people were killed, as “peaceful.”