Michigan Priest Fired After Mimicking Musk Nazi Salute

The priest who went viral this week for mimicking the Nazi salute hand gesture that Elon Musk made at President Donald Trump's inauguration has been removed from the church. Calvin Robinson, a now former priest of the Anglican Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, made the gesture at the National Pro-Life Summit on January 25 in Washington D.C.

At the time of this writing, Robinson still appears as the Priest-In-Charge on the St. Paul's Anglican Catholic Church of Grand Rapids website. However, the church posted a statement on Wednesday detailing his removal.

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From the church's statement:

“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 favor 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 Clearly, he has not, and as such, his license in this Church has been revoked.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.

Musk made the gesture earlier this month by bringing his right hand to his chest before emphatically straightening it outward. He then turned to make the gesture to the audience behind him.

Musk and his supporters argue it's anything but a Nazi salute.

Robinson, regardless of his reasoning, made the gesture at the conference with a smirk while saying "My heart goes out to you", referencing one of the defenses Musk made for his own gesture.