A FORMER GB News host has been sacked as a priest after making what has been described by some as a “Nazi salute”.
Calvin Robinson, who previously hosted his own show at GB News, performed the gesture at the end of a speech at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington DC on January 25.
The priest from the Anglican Catholic church appeared to quote and mimic Elon Musk, who previously said “my heart goes out to you” and then made the same salute.
Now, according to a statement on the Anglican Catholic church’s (ACC) website, Robinson’s license in the church has been revoked.
“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,” the ACC statement reads.
“Such actions are harmful, divisive, and contrary to the tenets of Christian charity.”
Robinson, meanwhile, posted a statement on his Facebook page on Wednesday saying it was a “joke” to mock “liberals” who called Elon Musk a “Nazi”.
“For the record, in case it needs saying: I am not a Nazi,” he wrote.
The ACC statement went on: “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 Clearly, he has not, and as such, his license in this Church has been revoked.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.”
The ACC is the fourth denomination Robinson has served, having been a priest under the Nordic Catholic Church, the Free Church of England, and the Church of England previously.