Bo Loudon, a conservative Gen Z influencer who has called Donald Trump’s son Barron Trump his “best friend,” is taking credit for helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement briefly detain Italian-Senegalese social media star Khaby Lame, the world’s most-followed person on TikTok.
In a statement to USA Today on Sunday, an ICE spokesperson confirmed that Lame, whose full name is Seringe Khabane Lame, was detained on Friday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas for “immigration violations.”
During Trump’s presidential campaign, Loudon was said to have played a role in helping the 78-year-old court young male voters.
The 25-year-old, who has more than 160 million followers on TikTok, was born in Senegal but moved as a child to Italy, where he is now a citizen. According to ICE, he entered the U.S. on April 30 and “overstayed the terms of his visa.” After a brief detention, the agency said, Lame was granted voluntary departure, which allows an individual facing removal to leave the U.S. voluntarily in a set time frame, rather than being ordered to be deported.
Lame has not addressed his detention on social media and did not respond to a request for comment from The New York Times.
After losing his factory job during the Covid pandemic, Lame began posting silent skits reacting to “life-hack” videos on TikTok, quickly gaining a following. He has held the title of the most-followed user on the platform since June 2022, when he surpassed dancer Charli D’Amelio.
On Friday, before Lame’s detention was widely reported, Loudon alleged he played a role in the influencer’s interaction with immigration authorities. “I’ve been working with the patriots at President Trump’s DHS to make this happen,” Loudon, 18, wrote on X.
In a video posted on Monday, Loudon alleged he heard from a “few of his friends” and “business partners” that Lame had overstayed his visa.
“I just called some buddies in the administration, and I’ve never seen anything happen so quick,” Loudon alleged. “They were like, ‘We’re gonna get right on this.’”
Loudon wished Lame “the best of luck” and said he hopes “he’s able to come back as a law-abiding citizen.” Bo Loudon is the son of former Republican Missouri state Sen. John Loudon and conservative media personality Gina Loudon, who served as co-chair of Women for Trump. The 18-year-old frequently posts photos of himself with both the president and Barron Trump on his social media pages. During Trump’s presidential campaign, Loudon was said to have played a role in helping the 78-year-old court young male voters. Loudon said he helped set up Trump’s interviews with Adin Ross and Joe Rogan. “It was the honor of my life to be able to organize and attend the LEGENDARY stream between Rightful President Trump and my friend @AdinRoss,” Loudon wrote at the time. “GEN-Z STANDS WITH TRUMP!”
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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