Trump Reportedly Told January 6 Militant and Hate Leader “I Love You”
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and his mother met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

The former leader of the Proud Boys claimed that he spoke with Donald Trump on Saturday night, and that the president “loves” him.
Enrique Tarrio, the convicted ex-chief of the far-right hate group, was one of the nearly 1,600 people who received clemency from the president for his actions on January 6, mere hours into Trump’s second term. But that was apparently not the last time that Tarrio would interact with the president. Instead, Tarrio and his mother, Zuny Duarte, were ushered to meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where a member had personally invited them to dine, reported The New York Times.
“He called me and my Mother over while we were at dinner and said he was sorry for what Joe Biden did to all J6ers,” Tarrio posted on X. “He knew the hardships me and my family faced for [three] long years.”
“He knew how many times they moved me. And he said he is working on making things right. I thanked him for giving me my life back,” Tarrio continued. “He replied with … I Love You guys.”
“To the J6ers he wanted me to send y’all a message,” Tarrio wrote. “He said … Thank you.”
Tarrio’s presence at Mar-a-Lago was made all the more strange considering that he would have had to be personally screened by the Secret Service before entering the Florida resort.
By Monday, Trump had not denied the exchange, and a White House spokesman contacted by the Times did not respond.
Tarrio was one of four Proud Boys to be convicted of seditious conspiracy for his actions on January 6. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison—the longest sentence received by any Proud Boys member—for effectively planning the attack on the Capitol to keep Trump in power after his 2020 loss. Tarrio served less than two years before Trump’s pen set him free. Since then, Tarrio has sparked a podcast and a Proud Boys–oriented crypto coin, and has become a far-right social media influencer.
In an interview with Alex Jones in January, Tarrio promised “retribution” against people who worked on prosecuting January 6 cases.