Key facts
- Reuters photographers documented members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front on a Washington D.C. train.
- The group, which uses fascist symbolism and masks its members' faces, was reportedly marching in the city.
- Hundreds of masked Patriot Front members were photographed boarding and traveling on a Metro train.
- A specific image of a solitary woman surrounded by group members has drawn international attention.
- The Patriot Front's manifesto states that democracy has failed and a 'hard reset' is needed.
Reuters photographers captured images of members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front traveling on a Washington D.C. Metro train on Saturday. Photographer Nathan Howard, who has covered extremist groups previously, decided to document the Patriot Front's activities after seeing social media reports of their presence in the city. He and freelance colleague Cheney Orr encountered members of the group, identifiable by their matching navy tops, khaki pants, and white face coverings, as they were dispersing and heading to the Eastern Market Metro station.
The photographers documented hundreds of group members boarding and traveling on a train, a scene described as incongruous with everyday public transit. One photograph taken by Orr, showing a solitary woman in a green T-shirt seated among the masked Patriot Front members, has garnered significant global attention. Orr stated he leaned over seated members to compose the shot. The Patriot Front, which posted that approximately 400 members had arrived in Washington, did not respond to Reuters' queries. Their website manifesto asserts that democracy has failed and calls for a 'hard reset' to return to the traditions of the nation's forefathers.
At the train's final stop in New Carrollton, the group disembarked, and the photographers continued to document their dispersal. Reuters was able to speak with a family member of the woman featured in the widely circulated photograph but could not reach her for an interview.