Bernita Bowlding Family Confirms 33-Year-Old Returned Safe After Viral July 4 Patriot Front Metro Photo
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 7
Bernita Bowlding Family Confirms 33-Year-Old Returned Safe After Viral July 4 Patriot Front Metro Photo
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 7
Summary
Bernita Bowlding, the Black woman seen alone among masked Patriot Front members on a July 4 Metro train, returned to her mother’s house Sunday morning after nearly a day without contact.
Her brother, Paul Bowlding, identified the 33-year-old mother of two from the viral Reuters photo and said the family grew alarmed because she had said she was heading to Silver Spring and has long struggled with mental illness.
Millions of views turned the image into a symbol of racism and extremism, but the family said she is more than that and feared online exposure could make her a target.
Court records cited in the report show a past charge highlighted online was later dismissed, and her brother said it stemmed from a mental health crisis.
By Tuesday, the family had not heard from Bowlding again after she left for church and the store on Sunday, and her brother said he hopes the attention leads to help for her challenges.