On September 6th in Billings, Montana, high school senior Tyler Linfesty was seen being removed from his seat behind President Trump at a MAGA rally.   

The teen was positioned just behind the president and, throughout the speech, could be seen raising his eyebrows, grimacing, and shaking his head- all real and honest reactions to some of what President Trump had to say in his speech.

Having won VIP tickets, Linfesty and his friends were able to get a picture with the president, and were given stage seating behind him, where they were visible not only to the audience but to the thousands of viewers watching.

Linfesty said to CNN that before the rally, he and his friends were told to look excited and clap for the president, and were given MAGA hats for the event. Linfesty instead put on a pin with the rose emblem of the Democratic Socialists of America in the middle of President Trump’s speech.

“When I got back there, I knew that I was going to be genuine. I was going to give my actual reactions to the things he said. So whenever I disagree with him, you could tell that I disagreed. But whenever I agreed with him, you know, I clapped,” Linfesty told CNN, in an interview with Don Lemon on September 8th.

Not even an hour into the president’s speech, Linfesty was approached by a campaign staffer and was asked to leave his seat.

“The woman she came in, and she just said, ‘I’m going to replace you.’ And I just walked off. I knew I was getting kicked off for not being enthusiastic enough so I decided not to fight it,” Linfesty said.

Later, Secret Service agents pulled him aside, checked his ID and told him to “leave and not come back.”

Ever since his appearance at Trumps’s rally, Tyler Linfesty has become an internet sensation, with #PlaidShirtGuy trending on multiple social media platforms.