Enrique Tarrio said he told Mr. Trump that he had saved his life by including him in a blanket grant of clemency for Jan. 6 defendants.
Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, said he personally thanked President Trump on Saturday night for issuing a pardon that cut short the 22-year prison term he was serving in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Mr. Tarrio’s expression of gratitude came during a brief but extraordinary encounter with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla. Mr. Tarrio and his mother, Zuny Duarte, were invited to have dinner at the property by one of its members.
According to a senior administration official who was not authorized to discuss the episode publicly, the club member introduced Mr. Tarrio and his mother to Mr. Trump as the president was walking through the main room at Mar-a-Lago on his way toward a table on the patio.
Mr. Tarrio and Ms. Duarte said in interviews that they spoke with Mr. Trump for about 10 minutes, recalling that he told them he believed that his supporters who faced charges arising from the Capitol attack had been mistreated.
A White House spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Mr. Tarrio said he told Mr. Trump that the president had saved his life by including him in the blanket grant of clemency extended to all of the nearly 1,600 people who were charged in connection with Jan. 6.
“He knew the hardships me and my family faced for three long years,” Mr. Tarrio later wrote about the encounter on social media. “He knew how many times they moved me. And he said he is working on making things right. I thanked him for giving me life back. He replied with…I Love You guys.”