Proud Boys leader who helps run Latinos for Trump group is not part of Trump campaign

During the first presidential debate President Donald Trump told a far-right group known as the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" when he was asked to condemn white supremacists. 

Trump later walked back the comment, saying he didn’t know who the Proud Boys were. "I can only say they have to stand down," Trump told reporters. 

Trump’s comments made the Proud Boys group part of the national election conversation and inspired plenty of talk on social media, some of it factually flawed.

"The leader of Proud Boys is the Florida state director of Latinos for Trump," reads one Oct. 1 Instagram post. The post continues in another image, specifying, "Enrique Tarrio is the Florida state director of Miami-based Latinos for Trump, and the national chairman of Proud Boys."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The post came from an unverified Instagram account called Cubanos con Biden, translated Cubans with Biden in English. A spokesperson for former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign said the post was not official campaign communication.

Here’s what we know: Tarrio is the current chairman of the Proud Boys, according to the New York Times and the Anti-Defamation League. He is also listed as the Florida state director of a group called Latinos for Trump, which is run by organization president Bianca Gracia.

Tarrio ran to represent Florida’s 27th Congressional District, but he struggled with fundraising and ultimately dropped out of the race before the August primary.

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But here’s where things get nuanced: the Latinos for Trump group that Tarrio is involved in is not directly associated with the official Trump campaign, as its name might suggest. 

Garcia and Tarrio’s Latinos for Trump site includes a small but important disclaimer at the bottom of its homepage: "Latinos for Trump is not affiliated with, authorized, or sponsored by Donald J. Trump, Inc. which is the principal campaign committee of President Donald J. Trump."

Ken Farnaso, a spokesperson for the official Trump campaign, also confirmed Tarrio holds no position within Trump’s official campaign organization.

"Mr. Tarrio is not affiliated with the Trump Campaign, the family, or our official Latinos for Trump coalition," he said. "He is also not the state director of our coalition and is not on our advisory board."

The Trump campaign has sent cease and desist letters to the unofficial Latinos for Trump group. Among other things, the letters requested the group include "prominent disclaimers" on each page of its website and on its marketing and promotional materials that indicate the group is not affiliated with the official Trump campaign.

The official Latinos for Trump campaign website lists its advisory board members, and Tarrio is not among them.

An Instagram post says, "The leader of Proud Boys is the Florida state director of Latinos for Trump."

Enrique Tarrio, who is chairman of the Proud Boys, is also the Florida state director of a group called Latinos for Trump. However, the Latinos for Trump group Tarrio helps run is not affiliated with the official Trump campaign in any way. 

The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important context: there are two Latinos for Trump groups — one sanctioned by the Trump campaign and another outside the campaign’s purview. This post inaccurately suggests the Trump campaign hired a leader of the Proud Boys to run some campaign operations in Florida. That’s not what happened. We rate this post Half True.