Paul Bowlding was concerned when he saw the now-viral July 4 photo of his sister, Bernita Bowlding, as she sat on a train surrounded by members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front in Washington, D.C.
The image, of a single Black woman surrounded by masked extremists, spread widely, with commentators comparing it to images from the Civil Rights era, but Bowlding said he was worried for his sister’s immediate safety.
“That’s basically like hounds surrounding her,” he told The Washington Post of Bernita, a 33-year-old mother of two who has struggled with mental illness.
Bowlding told the paper his sister is “one of the amazing ones.” She told a family member she was taking the train to Silver Spring, Maryland, the day the photo was taken.
Family members described being in only intermittent touch with Bernita, telling the Post on Tuesday that she had lost her phone and they hadn’t heard from her since Sunday, the day after the photo was taken, when she headed out to church and a store. They did not discuss the photo, her mom told the Post.
The Independent has contacted Paul Bowlding for comment.
When the photo, taken by Reuters photographer Cheney Orr, surfaced, commentators quickly described it as a “defining” image of contemporary American politics that will be included in future history books.
“I feel like the photo of this Black woman surrounded by dozens of masked, anonymous, white nationalists is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time,” Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, wrote on X.
“Your great grandchildren will see this photo in their history books,” liberal commentator Dean Withers added in a separate post. “This is a defining image of the era of American history we live in.”
Figures on the right responded by arguing it was wrong to turn the photo into an icon, claiming Bernita Bowlding had a previous arrest.
Washington-area court records show that an individual named Bernita Bowlding was arrested and charged in 2024 for misdemeanor indecent exposure, a charge that was later dismissed.
Paul Bowlding told the Post his sister was in the midst of a mental health crisis during her arrest.
Another transit passenger, Roswell Encina, is also speaking out about his experience traveling through Washington alongside members of the Patriot Front, who marches through the city in their hundreds over the weekend.
Encina, president and CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, told The Advocate he was struck by both fear and the symbolism of the moment, which occurred as he traveled to Maryland for a party.
“I came to this country as an infant and became a U.S. citizen,” Encina, who is Filipino-American, told the outlet. “So sitting there, on the Fourth of July, I couldn’t help but think about the promise of America and the work still required to protect it.”
Patriot Front emerged in 2017 in the wake of the lethal white supremacist rally that year in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Its members, who seek to build a white ethnostate, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, are known for carrying flags and wearing masks while making sudden appearances across U.S. cities.
Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department didn’t report any arrests related to their activities, The Independent previously reported.
