A man seen in a viral photo has opened up about the terrifying moment he was surrounded by Patriot Front members on a DC train on Saturday, July 4. Roswell Encina was on his way from Washington, D.C., to meet friends for a Fourth of July party in Maryland when the photo was taken. It soon went viral on social media.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 04: Roswell Encina looks on as members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front ride the Washington Metro during Fourth of July celebrations on July 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Finn Gomez / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) (Getty Images via AFP)

The photo shows Encina sitting in a train as he is surrounded by people with their faces covered, wearing caps with the Patriot Front logo. It was at either Eastern Market or Potomac Avenue where Encina said he saw the group, waiting to board the train.

“Yesterday, on the Fourth of July, I found myself on a @metroforward train with hundreds of masked white supremacists. It was unsettling,” Encina, the president and CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, wrote on Instagram, sharing the Getty Images photograph by Finn Gomez.

“I came to this country as an infant and became a U.S. citizen. 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,” he added.

Also Read | Who is Patriot Front? The white nationalist group's logo, beliefs, and July 4 march through Capitol Hill

Encina further said that “our history has never been simple,” as it is not just “a story of extraordinary achievement and expanding freedom, but also of exclusion, prejudice, and people determined to decide who belongs.”

“Yet generation after generation, Americans have pushed our nation closer to its founding ideals. The words “all are created equal” were not a description of who we were in 1776. They were a challenge to every generation that followed,” Encina wrote.

“The day after Independence Day feels like the right time to remember that patriotism isn’t about intimidation or fear. It is about having the courage to keep widening the circle of liberty, dignity, and opportunity,” he continued.

“Moments like this remind me why civic education matters. Democracy is strongest when we understand it, participate in it, and reject the hatred that threatens it. That’s work worth doing every day,” Encina added, thanking the photographer, “whose presence was quietly reassuring.”

On the Fourth of July, hundreds of members of the Patriot Front wore masks, khakis, sunglasses and hats to the capital, according to the New York Post. Some of them were seen parading upside-down American flags while marching through DC, while others carried Confederate flags. Videos showed some of them chanting slogans such as, “Life, liberty, victory!” and, “Reclaim America!”