WATCH: Man from Viral Photo Details ‘Unsettling’ Metro Ride with White Nationalists on July 4

Roswell Encina, who was photographed riding the Washington, D.C., metro while surrounded by members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front, told CNN Monday that the whole situation was “very unsettling.”

Encina, who is a gay Filipino American with the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, was photographed, along with a young Black woman in a now-viral photo, as they sat warily on the train in the midst of the country’s 250th birthday festivities.

“It was very unsettling, as you can imagine. Very uncomfortable,” Encina said. “You know, I was heading towards Maryland to the new Carrollton station, and if you live in Washington, that’s the last stop on the line.”

Encina said the train car was full of “normal tourists and families from Washington, all in red, white and blue, ready to go to the Mall or get off at Capitol South by the Capitol” to celebrate the Fourth of July.

When everyone emptied out, Encina said he saw “this massive amount of men in masks and hats and sunglasses” and suspected they were white supremacists.

“I probably kind of froze there when they were all kind of boarding, not knowing what was happening,” Encina said.

CNN’s Kasie Hunt said, “And you ended up in some photographs taken by a Getty Images photographer. What did it say to you that there was a photographer there?”

“That’s when it alarmed me. This is something, you know,” Encina said. “But the photographer also gave me some comfort knowing that somebody was there with a camera, just in case something happens, because I was realizing if anything happens, I won’t be able to identify any of them because they’re all dressed the same.”

Panelist Mo Eleithee asked, “I’m sure their presence was unsettling, but how did they behave on the train?”

“They were surprisingly very civil and very organized,” Encina answered. “They were just chatting among themselves like any other people who were sitting or traveling using the metro.”

Panelist Elliot Williams asked if Encina knew the Black woman whose photo went viral.

“No, that’s another reason…I decided to, you know, talk about this,” Encina said. “That image of that young woman is very compelling and very powerful. And clearly, as my position at the Capitol Historical Society, I do have a platform to talk about this and give my insights on the history and the civics that are connected to all this, but this young woman doesn’t.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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