Donald Trump closed out a turbulent Tuesday night with a glowing Truth Social post to a supporter, just hours after his Washington, D.C. dinner stunt was hijacked by activists.
The president shared a Newsmax story about Leonard “Lenny” Amicola, 67, a disabled Vietnam veteran who has flown pro-Trump banners since 2021. The Village of Croton-on-Hudson in New York had hit Amicola with a zoning violation over his “Trump Is My President” flag, citing a banner restriction.
Late Tuesday, officials confirmed the violation had been rescinded. Trump quickly seized on the win, writing: “Thank you Lenny. Great to be a WINNER, and that is you, a WINNER and a CHAMPION!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT.”
The midnight message came after a high-profile disruption during Trump’s dinner at Joe’s Seafood, a steak-and-lobster mainstay blocks from the White House. The gathering with his cabinet was intended to showcase a safer capital following his deployment of the National Guard to curb crime.
Instead, activists from the feminist group Code Pink stormed the restaurant, chanting: “Free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.” Video captured Trump glaring at the hecklers while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance stood frozen at his side.
Trump eventually directed his security detail to eject the protesters. On X, Code Pink celebrated the ambush: “Trump looked us in the eyes, we made sure he will never dine in peace while communities are under siege.”
The clash drew immediate attention across social media, with clips of the chants ricocheting around X and Instagram within minutes. By night’s end, Trump was back on his platform, rallying around Amicola’s banner fight, perhaps in a bid to deflect from the restaurant showdown.
Amicola, who began flying Trump-themed flags from his suburban New York property in 2021, has described his displays as an act of loyalty. Village officials initially issued him an appearance ticket for violating zoning code limits on banners, but on Tuesday night, they reversed course.
Croton-on-Hudson Mayor Brian Pugh had defended the ruling as a “straightforward code enforcement matter,” after the issue was painted as “politically motivated enforcement action.”
Amicola’s attorney, Roseann Schuyler, said: “I think that if Lenny had a Joe Biden flag or a Black Lives Matter flag, or a pride flag, that he would be allowed to fly his flag and would not be harassed by the village administration at all.”
