A Michigan priest with the Anglican Catholic church has been removed from his position after performing what appears to be a Nazi salute at a National Pro-Life Summit in Washington DC. Calvin Robinson, who held the title of priest-in-charge at St Paul’s Anglican Catholic church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, made the gesture at the end of a speech on January 25.
Robinson appeared to quote Elon Musk, saying “My heart goes out to you,” before mimicking his straight-arm motion. The Anglican Catholic church subsequently revoked Robinson’s license and he will no longer serve as a priest.
In a statement, the church said that those who mimic the Nazi salute, even as a joke or an attempt to troll their opponents, trivialize the horror of the Holocaust and diminish the sacrifice of those who fought against its perpetrators. The church also stated that such actions are harmful, divisive, and contrary to the tenets of Christian charity.
Robinson defended the gesture as “a joke” in “mockery of the hysterical ‘liberals’ who called Elon Musk a Nazi for quite clearly showing the audience his heart was with them.” He claimed that the gesture was “dry wit, in that typical British way” and not a joke at the expense of WWII or an admission of membership in the Nationalist Socialist Party.
The incident has drawn comparisons to Elon Musk’s apparent fascist gestures at Trump’s inauguration and his recent appearance at a German far-right rally where he encouraged people to “move beyond” the guilt of past actions, apparently referring to the Holocaust. Musk has also made jokes about the gesture and Nazism on his social media platform X, which many found in poor taste.