Church Revokes License of Priest Who Copied Elon Musk’s Controversial Salute: He ‘Had Been Warned’ About ‘Online Trolling’

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A priest who copied Elon Musk’s “salute” gesture had his ministerial license revoked by the Anglican Catholic Church after previous warnings about “online trolling.”

Musk has been heavily criticized for a salute gesture he made twice at President Donald Trump’s inauguration that, despite his claims he was just throwing his “heart” out to the crowd, resembled the physicality of a Nazi salute, was cheered by Nick Fuentes and other avowed neo-Nazis, and was generally acknowledged to be the sort of gesture it would be extremely unwise to attempt in Germany (where it is a crime) or at your workplace. The SpaceX CEO’s mocking defenses of his actions, jokes and puns about various Nazi leaders’ names, and remarks to Germany’s far-right AfD party last weekend have all been fuel to the fire for his critics.

Father Calvin Robinson, the rector of St. Paul’s Anglican Catholic Church in St. Paul, Michigan, adopted similar tactics as Musk and has now lost his job. Robinson was speaking at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday when he made the controversial gesture.

He praised America as the “only country that is fighting for life” and “the last stand for Christendom,” telling the crowd, “So God bless all of you for what you’re doing. Please keep doing it. I hope that I can encourage you, and my heart goes out to you. God bless.” Robinson tweeted a video of this portion of his speech, showing him making the salute as he said “and my heart goes out to you.” The audience laughed and applauded.

The Anglican Catholic Church found Robinson’s antics less amusing, and posted “A Statement on Calvin Robinson” on its website stating that “his license in this Church has been revoked.”

The statement condemned the “gesture that many have interpreted as a pro-Nazi salute” and noted that Robinson “had been warned that online trolling and other such actions (whether in service of the left or right) are incompatible with a priestly vocation and was told to desist.”

“[W]e believe 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 statement added.

The full text read:

At approximately 3:00 pm today (1/29) members of the College of Bishops of the ACC were made aware of a post made on X showing the end of a speech made by Calvin Robinson at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington, DC. In it, he closed his comments with a gesture that many have interpreted as a pro-Nazi salute.

While we cannot say what was in Mr. Robinson’s heart when he did this, his action appears to have been an attempt to curry favour with certain elements of the American political right by provoking its opposition. Mr. Robinson had been warned that online trolling and other such actions (whether in service of the left or right) are incompatible with a priestly vocation and was told to desist. Clearly, he has not, and as such, his license in this Church has been revoked. He is no longer serving as a priest in the ACC.

Furthermore, we understand that this is not just an administrative matter. The Holocaust was an episode of unspeakable horror, enacted by a regime of evil men. We condemn Nazi ideology and anti-Semitism in all its forms. And we believe 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. Such actions are harmful, divisive, and contrary to the tenets of Christian charity.

Finally, we pray that God will give us grace to lay aside our unhappy divisions, and we commend ourselves to his Almighty protection.

Robinson has been active in conservative politics in the UK for years. He has run for office, served as the spokesperson for the UK Independence Party, and has connections with a number of political organizations, including Turning Point UK. He remained defiant after the loss of his license and public rebuke by the church, posting several tweets defending his actions as just a “joke” and bashing his critics as “very bitter, angry, vile leftists,” in addition to retweeting dozens of posts from his supporters.