Allen Armentrout gained Internet fame this Tuesday after his silent vigil in front of a Confederate monument to General Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. Armentrout stood in Confederate garb with an AR-15 slung over his shoulder and the Confederate flag hoisted over the other as protesters confronted him. One moment captured in an image that went viral showed a woman standing in front of him giving the finger.

Speaking to a local news outlet, Armentrout said that he traveled to Charlottesville to honor Lee, who he called “the greatest American who ever lived,” just days after white supremacists marched with torches through the park, leading to violence that resulted in the death of a counter-protester.

But Thursday, he found out that the college he attends has expelled him before his final year.

“I have been released from my school and will be unable to return to college to finish my senior year,” Armentrout according to WXII News. “I’m processing this and making adjustments to my life to compensate for this scrutiny.”

He added that his removal from Pensacola Christian College has made it more difficult for him to “serve the Lord.”

“I’m a born-again Christian and I believe this wrench has hindered my attempt to serve the Lord. I believe a Christian institution should support patriotic individuals who want to stand for American tradition and beliefs. It really hurts me a lot when you try to do what’s right and you get attacked.”

Allen Armentrout from North Carolina calls Robert E. Lee "the greatest American that ever lived". pic.twitter.com/e4BvLR6Olb — Jeff Goldberg (@abc7jeffg) August 15, 2017

“At the college I was attending, my contract provided my fourth year free if I paid my payments on time, which I worked very hard to do,” he added. “Now, essentially, if I want to complete my undergrad, I’ll have to pay, which I don’t have the resources to pay for a fourth year.”

According to the Friendly Atheist‘s Hermant Mehta, the fact that the school chose to expel Armentrout was a little surprising:

I’m actually surprised Pensacola Christian College kicked him out. This is a school so irrational, female students in pajamas are forced to put on knee-length shorts or a skirt before running outside in the event of a fire so that they’re not immodest. You have to do something really bad before they kick you out, like dancing, playing with cards, vaping, or being gay. They never seem to kick anyone out for good reasons.

Featured image via Twitter