Michigan priest defrocked for imitating Elon Musk’s ‘Nazi’ salute

A Michigan clergyman was relieved of his duties aft giving what appeared to beryllium a Nazi salute inspired by Elon Musk astatine a governmental rally past week.

The Anglican Catholic Church condemned Father Calvin Robinson for making “a motion that galore person interpreted arsenic a pro-Nazi salute” astatine the extremity of an code to an anti-abortion, right-wing contingent successful Washington, D.C.

“While we cannot accidental what was successful Mr. Robinson’s bosom erstwhile helium did this, his enactment appears to person been an effort to curry favour with certain elements of the American governmental right by provoking its opposition,” the religion wrote successful a connection connected its website Wednesday.

Robinson, who’s primitively from the United Kingdom, had antecedently been warned astir participating successful online trolling and was reportedly told to halt engaging successful specified provocative behavior.

“Clearly, helium has not, and arsenic such, his licence successful this Church has been revoked. He is nary longer serving arsenic a clergyman successful the ACC,” the religion said, adding that mimicking the Nazi salute is “harmful, divisive, and contrary to the tenets of Christian charity.”

Robinson responded to being defrocked by insisting he’s not a Nazi and boasting the code helium delivered to his assemblage successful D.C. was well-received.

“The gag astatine the extremity was a mockery of the hysterical ‘liberals’ who called Elon Musk a Nazi for rather intelligibly showing the assemblage his bosom was with them,” Robinson wrote connected X.

He said he’ll judge the consequences of his actions due to the fact that radical who stock his ideology are protected by the “full armour of God.”

Musk meantime — known to dabble successful suggestive and often juvenile humor connected his societal media level — insisted the gesture helium gave during a speech pursuing Trump’s inauguration wasn’t an homage to Adolf Hitler’s far-right movement.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures arsenic helium speaks during the inaugural parade wrong Capital One Arena, successful Washington, DC, connected January 20, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

But days later, helium appeared successful a abbreviated video played astatine a rally for Germany’s ultra-conservative AfD Party, wherever helium told supporters to be proud of their German past.