Remember me
A January 2026 Department of Homeland Security data leak revealed Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
Rating:Tarrio's name did appear in a watchdog database that claims to contain leaked information about ICE personnel — but he was classified as a "propagandist agitator," not an ICE agent. At the time of this writing, his entry in that database had last been updated in December 2025, more than a month before the reported leak.
In January 2026, after a reported data leak containing the identities of around 4,500 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol employees, a claim (archived) circulated online that Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys movement, was listed among the leaked names as an ICE agent.
One X user who posted the claim wrote, "Proud Boy Leader / Convicted Felon Enrique Tarrio, Is one of Trump's Nazi ICE Agents. Imagine That."
The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes readers wrote in asking if the claim was true.
Many people who made the claim shared screenshots (archived) purportedly from ICEList.is, a watchdog database that, according to its about page, identifies ICE agents and seeks to hold them legally accountable for their actions. According to internet users who shared those screenshots, Tarrio appeared in the ICEList.is database of agents.
The screenshots showing Tarrio's name on the ICEList.is database were authentic, meaning not generated by artificial intelligence. However, a spokesperson for ICEList.is said via email that the database included more classifications than just ICE agents. The spokesperson wrote:
Tarrio is listed as a propagandist agitator, not an agent, as it says in his profile, it also says that the agency is not applicable, so no, he is not an ICE agent. We want to track those who spread propaganda, and those who play out stunts of provocation, as well as agents.
ICE generally does not reveal the identity of its agents, who often appear in public wearing masks to obscure their faces. However, Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, wrote in an emailed statement that Tarrio "was never hired by ICE." Tarrio himself wrote (archived) on X that a post (archived) that appeared to suggest he worked for the agency was satire. Therefore, we rate this claim false.
In response to claims circulating online, Tarrio wrote (archived) on X on Jan. 14, 2026:
I F***ING WISH I WORKED FOR ICE.
A brothah needs those 50k. And what a joy would it be to target the nannies and lawn workers of liberals. You want to really get deportations going? Hire the F***ING ProudBoys.
On a serious note: I have received a heavy influx of death threats since these r****ds decided to post this. It's their goal to spread disinfo so the IDIOTS that believe this take action.
I've also received many media requests from mainstream outlets. They didn't even bother to look at the names listed. If they did they'd see it's in order by last names and mine isn't. You can't hate these people enough. They belong in prison!
Tarrio was correct that ICEList.is appeared to have formatted his name differently from some of the others listed. The ICEList.is spokesperson said the formatting of Tarrio's name was "simply an oversight."
Additionally, Tarrio's page on ICEList.is showed that the database last modified his page on Dec. 1, 2025, more than a month before the reported January 2026 data leak that online users claimed his name featured in — further evidence that Tarrio's name was not part of the leak.
Tarrio, originally from Miami, was national chairman of the Proud Boys between November 2018 and September 2021, according to reports.
He received a 22-year prison sentence in 2023 for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In January 2025, Tarrio walked free after President Donald Trump's sweeping clemency grant to more than 1,500 people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6 riot.
Snopes previously reported on a false claim that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified to Congress that Republicans voted to allow ICE to hire people who participated in the Jan. 6 riot.
SourcesCeballos, Joshua. 'Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Was Once a Regular Miami Kid. Now He's in Jail'. Miami New Times, 7 Sept. 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20210907214405/https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/proud-boys-leader-enrique-henry-tarrio-was-once-a-regular-miami-kid-12889526#:~:text=by%20Joshua%20Ceballos-,III%3A%20Miami%20Roots,-Sipping%20a%20colada.
'Enrique Tarrio'. ICE List Wiki, https://wiki.icelist.is/index.php/Enrique_Tarrio. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
'Granting Pardons And Commutation Of Sentences For Certain Offenses Relating To The Events At Or Near The United States Capitol On January 6, 2021'. The White House, 21 Jan. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/.
ICE List – Put ICE on Ice. https://icelist.is/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
Latchem, Tom. 'Personal Details of Thousands of Border Patrol and ICE Goons Allegedly Leaked in Huge Data Breach'. The Daily Beast, 13 Jan. 2026, https://archive.ph/P3NNG#selection-1859.11-1859.107.
Mak, Tim. After Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, Far-Right Proud Boys Shift Focus To Local Politics : NPR. 7 May 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20230507212653/https://www.npr.org/2021/06/28/1010328631/some-proud-boys-are-moving-to-local-politics-as-scrutiny-of-far-right-group-ramp?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social#:~:text=Tarrio%20will%20be%20going%20local%20himself.%20Following%20a%20year%20in%20which%20he%20admits%20his%20organization%20has%20%22been%20through%20the%20wringer%2C%22%20he%20told%20NPR%20he%20plans%20to%20step%20down%20as%20national%20chairman%20in%20September%20to%20focus%20on%20his%20chapter%20in%20Florida.
O'Connor, Meg. 'Inside Miami Alt-Right Proud Boys Chapter | Miami New Times'. Miami New Times, 1 Oct. 2020, https://web.archive.org/web/20201001092654/https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/inside-miami-alt-right-and-proud-boys-chapter-10945821#:~:text=This%20past%20November%2024%2C%20Tarrio%2C%20a%20Miami%2Dborn%20first%2Dgeneration%20Cuban%20immigrant%20and%20business%20owner%20who%20has%20spent%20almost%20a%20year%20in%20federal%20prison%2C%20replaced%20McInnes%20as%20the%20group%27s%20chairman.
' Proud Boys Leader Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison on Seditious Conspiracy and Other Charges Related to U.S. Capitol Breach'. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia, 5 Sept. 2023, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/proud-boys-leader-sentenced-22-years-prison-seditious-conspiracy-and-other-charges.
RICHER, ALANNA DURKIN, and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN. 'Trump Grants Sweeping Pardon of Jan. 6 Defendants, Including Rioters Who Violently Attacked Police'. AP News, 21 Jan. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/capitol-jan-6-pardons-trump-justice-department-8ce8b2a8f8cb602d5eaf85ac7b969606.
Comments (0)