The chairman of the white nationalistProud Boys group, a convicted felon,posted photos from inside the White House gates ahead of a violent pro-Trump rallyin Washington DC on Saturday, raising new questions about the president's apparent embrace of the right-wing agitators.

Enrique Tarriorevealed that he visited the executive mansionon Saturdayafterreceivinga "last-minute invite to an undisclosed location." The White House later said that Tarriohad not been invited, but had instead taken part ina holiday tour."He was on a public White House Christmas tour," White House spokespersonJudd Deere said over the weekend. "He did not have a meeting with the president, nor did the White House invite him."

White House public tours are self-guided, and anyone who wants one,including Christmas tours, must apply no fewer than 21 days ahead of their booking date because the application includesasecurity formand background check.Hopefuls with afelony are generally denied, a former Trump White House official told Salon, unless a senior member of the administration intervenes.

In 2013, Tarrio, also known asHenry TarrioJr, was convictedoftwo class C, one class D and one class E feloniesfor stealing and reselling $1.2 millionworth of diabetes test strips from Abbott Labs, and served16 months in federal prison. Court records show that hewasreleasedin December2014with two years probation, and ordered to pay restitution for the full$1.2 million.

On Saturday, Tarrio was accompanied to the executive mansionby other members ofLatinos for Trump, includingBianca Garcia, the president of the group, and her son,Armani Garcia,aformer intern for Rep.Jody Hice, R-Ga. It is unclear if or when Latinos for Trump applied for its White House tour, and unclear why Tarrio received a security pass.

In the past, people who have been invited to the WhiteHouse specifically because of their work on criminal justice reform have been denied entry. For instance, Vicki Lopez, a former county commissioner in Florida who had been previouslysentenced to 27 months in federal prison for mail fraud,was notallowed intothe Obama White House in 2009, despite receiving a commutation fromformer President Bill Clinton. People with prior convictions who are able to gain entry are generally given special badgesand personal escorts. It would be highly unusual for someone with Tarrio's criminal history to get inside the White House without someone high up in the administration personally pulling strings, according to the former White House official.

A White House spokesperson declined to reply when asked who had checked Tarrio in on Saturday: The East Wing, where visitors usually enter, or the Executive Office of the President.

During the firstpresidential debate in September, Trump had the opportunityto denouncewhite supremacistsand violent far-right groups specifically, Democratic opponent Joe Biden invited him to condemnThe Proud Boys. Trump did not denounce the group but told them "stand back and stand by,"a directive that the group took as an endorsement. The Proud Boys Telegram accountwrote,"standing down and standing by sir."Another known accountincorporated a version of thephrase "Stand back. Stand by" intoa new group logo.

"I think this 'stand back, stand by' thing will be another Proud Boy saying," TarriotoldThe Daily Beast.(The Beast pointed out that previous slogans were:"The West Is the Best," and the warning "F*ck Around and Find Out.")

Trump eventually condemned the group in a Fox Newsinterview two days later but he also claimed he knew "almost nothing" about them. "I condemn theProud Boys," Trump said. "I don't know much about theProud Boys, almost nothing, butI condemn that."

The Proud Boys self-identify as "Western chauvinists," butdeny being part oftheracist alt-right. Members claim theyare instead simply a men'sgroup that promotes an "anti-political correctness" and "anti-white guilt"ideology, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

On his 2020 Ballotpedia candidatequestionnaire, Tarrio cited as his favorite book Pat Buchanan's 2001"The Death of the West:How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization."

"This book shows the growing problems and divide in our country," Tarrio wrote."It allows me to learn how to find solutions to conserve our nation and restore the love we have for it. We are not a perfect nation, but we must strive everyday to get as close to perfection as possible."

The group'sinitiation process demands aspirants to, among other things,denouncemasturbation andrecite five brands of breakfast cereal while fighting off an attack from other members. Thefinal requirement for membership involves "a major fight for the cause," founder Gavin McInnes told Metro.us in a 2017 interview.

"You get beat up, kick the crap out of an antifa" and possibly get arrested, McInnes explained.

"Their disavowals of bigotry are belied by their actions," the SPLC says on its profile of the group. "Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spoutwhite nationalistmemes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. They are known foranti-Muslimand misogynistic rhetoric."

In 2017, Proud Boysmarchedatthe Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virg., but after a neo-Nazi terrorist attack on counter-protesters left one woman dead, the group's founder Gavin McInnesssought to create distancefrom the white supremacist movement.In recent months, members have shown upto counterBlack Lives Matter protests, and last month President Trump shared a video of a post-election Proud Boys brawl in D.C., selectively edited to make it appear that a member was a victim, not an instigator.

The grouphasheld rallieswhere hundreds of membersattended, many of them armed.However, its chairman, Tarrio, cannot legally own a gun, because he is a convicted felon. He oftenappearsin photographs wearinga tactical vest with afruit-flavored malted alcoholic beverage tucked into a front pocket.

The Proud Boys also haveties to longtime Trump associate and convicted felon Roger Stone, and they areopen about its support for the outgoing president.Anotherleader, Joe Biggs, boastedlast year that he was having dinner with Trump at the president's D.C. hotel, and shareda picture of himself seated beside Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.Trump'sofficial schedulethat evening included "remarks at a fundraising committee reception" at Trump International Hotel at 8:00PM.Tarrio'sSaturday visit coincided with a rally in the nation's capital where thousands of right-wing protesters,including several hundred Proud Boys,a number of themdressed in tactical vests and fatigues, took to the streets toprotestTrump's election defeat.

This January, Tarrio launched his ill-fated congressional campaignwithalaunch partyat Trump National Doral in Miami on Jan. 25. (Tarrio had toacceptRoger Stone's endorsement in absentia that evening, as the Trump confidant had been arrested that morning.) About 300 people attended the event, whichcaught the tail end of the Republican National Committee's winter meeting and ended with fireworks.

However, his campaign's finance records do not indicate any payments on the night other than a$900 expense onJan. 27 to Trump's BLT Prime restaurantin Washington, D.C. (There is a BLT Prime at Trump's Doral club as well.)Tarrio laterbraggedthat"We exceeded our expectation by three-fold with 250+ in the building."

A White House spokesperson referred Salon's questions about security checks to the U.S. Secret Service.The Secret Servicedid not reply to multiple requests for comment.

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How did a Proud Boys leader with a felony record get into the White House? - Salon