Proud Boys, the extremist right-wing organisation Donald Trump once told to “stand by”, has said they’ve had a member inside the White House for four years.
Posting on social media site Parler on Saturday, the Proud Boys account said "There's been a Proud Boy at the White House for four years and everyone's shocked about the pic from today," Newsweek reported.
The post responded to anger at claims Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio was invited to the White House on the same day the president’s supporters and Proud Boys members rallied in Washington DC.
They were there to protest the Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Republicans’ latest challenge against the election they alleged was rigged, but was won by Joe Biden.
Mr Tarrio said he received a “last minute invite” to the White House on the same day as the protests, which turned violent, and shared a photograph at what he said was “an undisclosed location." on Parler, the conservative alternative to Twitter.
“Wow… I’m in awe. #Trump2020,” the Proud Boys chairman added, and said in another post: “Never thought I’d be here”.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said Mr Tarrio had not been invited by Mr Trump, and that he was on a public tour, as the Trump administration denied Mr Tarrio’s claims.
"He was on a public White House Christmas tour," White House spokesman Judd Deere told Reuters. "He did not have a meeting with the president, nor did the White House invite him.”
In September’s presidential debate, Mr Trump told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” as he responded to a question on right-wing extremism, and sidestepped a chance to condemn the organisation.
He said weeks later that “I condemn all white supremacists, I condemn the Proud Boys. I don’t know much about the Proud Boys but I condemn that.”
It was not clear who the Proud Boys member at the White House was, as claimed on the organisation’s Parler, although it could be a nod to Mr Trump, reported Newsweek.
The White House has been contacted for further comment by the Independent.
