A prominent MAGA influencer broke down in tears after saying she was removed from a campaign rally for Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate seeking the Texas Senate nomination, despite years of publicly supporting Donald Trump and the GOP.
The TikTok creator, who uses the name Thelma Louise online, appeared shocked as she was escorted from Sunday’s event in San Antonio. In video of the incident, she repeatedly questioned why she had been asked to leave, emphasizing her loyalty to the Republican Party.
“I cannot believe this,” Louise said while recording the confrontation. She later told followers she had driven for two hours to attend the rally, only to be turned away.
The circumstances surrounding her removal remain unclear. Louise said she had not done anything wrong and claimed that Paxton’s campaign had given her no explanation for the decision.
Louise has more than 204,000 TikTok followers and has developed a substantial online following by promoting Trump, the MAGA movement and other Republican figures.
Her posts frequently praise conservative politics. In one video, she celebrated the “baddest queens” working to “flip it red,” while another expressed her support for fellow conservative influencer Nick Shirley.
She also shared footage from September’s Republican midterm convention in Dallas, portraying herself as an enthusiastic member of the party she says she joined wholeheartedly after leaving the Democrats two years ago.
That enthusiasm was on display before Sunday’s rally. In an earlier video filmed during her journey to the event, Louise announced her arrival in Texas and told her followers, “Of course I had to drive down.”
Thelma Louise cried after claiming she was removed from a campaign rally for Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton (source: Thelma Louise/Instagram)
Paxton, Texas’ attorney general and a leading conservative figure, is competing for the Republican nomination for the US Senate, placing his campaign at the heart of a closely watched Texas GOP primary
The positive tone quickly changed. In a later post, Louise uploaded footage of herself being escorted out, alongside text stating: “I was asked to leave… I’m a REPUBLICAN that has done nothing but support my party.”
She expressed similar disbelief in the caption, writing: “I can’t believe I was treated like this… They were even told not to allow me back inside.”
As she left the venue, Louise asked someone off-camera whether there was a campaign representative or another official she could speak with about the decision.
“And there’s no one I can talk to about this?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. No, ma’am,” the person responded.
Outside the venue, Louise described her version of events. She said someone had approached her and told her that Paxton’s campaign manager wanted her to leave.
“Someone just came up to me and said that Ken Paxton’s campaign manager wanted me to leave,” she said in the video.
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“I did nothing wrong, I drove two hours to get here,” Louise added. “And this is how I get treated?”
Louise revisited the confrontation in a later post, noting that she had previously received press credentials for the Texas Youth Summit, which Paxton attended, as well as the Republican midterm convention. (Thelma Louise/Instagram)
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In a follow-up video, Louise appeared dumbfounded as she reflected on what she described as the ‘disrespect that I was just given’.
She explained that she had left the Democratic Party two years earlier and had volunteered for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, presenting her political journey as evidence of her commitment to the Republican cause.
For someone who says she had devoted years to supporting the movement, the experience appeared to leave a particularly bitter aftertaste.
‘This I will never forget,’ she declared.
Louise subsequently addressed the controversy again, pointing out that she had previously received press credentials to attend the Texas Youth Summit, where Paxton appeared, as well as the Republican midterm convention.
She appeared frustrated that, despite those previous experiences, she had still not been told why she was removed from Sunday’s rally.
The absence of an explanation has left the circumstances surrounding the incident unclear.
However the incident prompted social media users to speculate about whether her race played a role in her removal.
Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross commented, ‘Being MAGA while Black chapter 293.’ However, no explanation from Paxton’s campaign has been provided.
The controversy comes as Paxton, the Texas attorney general and a prominent conservative figure, has been seeking the Republican nomination for the US Senate, putting his campaign at the center of a closely watched contest within the state’s GOP.
A University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs poll showed Talarico leading Paxton by 48% to 46%. Libertarian candidate Ted Brown had 3% support, while another 3% of voters were undecided.
Talarico, a state representative from Austin, could become the first Democrat elected to statewide office in Texas in more than 30 years if he wins. His narrow lead appears to reflect support from independents and a fair share of Republicans considering voting against Paxton.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Ken Paxton for comment.