While Calvin Robinson said on Monday (Feb. 3) that he still had not been allowed to speak to his archbishop about the revocation of his ministry license, the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) released a statement clarifying that Robinson had not been “defrocked.”
Robinson, a conservative political commentator, became a priest for the ACC, a denomination in the continuing Anglican movement, in September 2024. He previously served in the Nordic Catholic Church, the Free Church of England, and the Church of England.
Calvin Robinson’s Ministry License Revoked After Robinson Mimics Nazi Salute
The ACC revoked Robinson’s ministerial license last week, barring him from serving as a priest in any of the denomination’s roughly 250 churches, after Robinson jokingly mimicked a Nazi salute to a crowd at a pro-life event.
“I hope that I can encourage you,” Robinson said, before putting his hand to his chest. Then extending his arm upward with a straightened hand, he added, “And my heart goes out to you.”
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Robinson’s gesture, which was a reference to a similar gesture made by tech mogul Elon Musk after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, was met with scattered laughter and then applause as he exited the stage.
While Musk was publicly scrutinized for making the gesture, it does not appear that he intended to perform the infamous Nazi salute as he metaphorically sent his heart out to the crowd.
Nevertheless, some right-wing figures have begun advocating for the return of the salute to public life as an act of defiance against political correctness.
After people, including Robinson himself, began circulating online clips of him making the gesture, the ACC released a statement saying 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priestly vocation and was told to desist” and that in light of his most recent actions, “his license in this Church has been revoked. He is no longer serving as a priest in the ACC.”
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Following the statement, Robinson said on social media that he had “not heard from the Archbishop yet – so I do not know the situation or what I am able to share.” He also clarified that he is “not a Nazi.”