Alexandria pastor condemns Charlie Kirk as an 'unapologetic racist' during Sunday sermon

A pastor at a Baptist church in Alexandria, Va., condemned late conservative activist Charlie Kirk as an "unapologetic racist" on Sunday.

While preaching at Alfred Street Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley denounced Kirk’s killing but criticized the widespread veneration of the Turning Point USA founder. 

"Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be assassinated," Wesley said. "But I am overwhelmed seeing the flags of the United States of America at half-staff, calling this nation to honor and venerate a man who was an unapologetic racist and spent all of his life sowing seeds of division and hate into this land."

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Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley denounced conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing during a sermon on Sunday but criticized the veneration of the Turning Point USA founder. (The Washington Post/Getty; Rebecca Noble/Getty)

The 31-year-old conservative activist was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, leaving a wife and two children. Suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, is in custody for the killing.

Kirk's family has received an outpouring of support in the days after his death.

President Donald Trump ordered American flags at government buildings to be flown at half-staff following Kirk’s death. 

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Charlie Kirk debates with students at The Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025, in Cambridge, England. (Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)

During his sermon, Wesley accused Kirk’s supporters of hypocrisy in their outrage over his death, saying they did not care when Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in a politically motivated attack in June. 

"And hearing people with selective rage who are mad about Charlie Kirk but didn’t give a damn about Melissa Hortman and her husband when they were shot down in their home, tell me I ought to have compassion for the death of a man who had no respect for my own life," he said.

He continued, "I am sorry, but there’s nowhere in the Bible where we are taught to honor evil. And how you die does not redeem how you lived. You do not become a hero in your death when you are a weapon of the enemy in your life."

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Erika Kirk weeps over her late husband Charlie Kirk's casket. The Turning Point USA founder was killed on Sept. 10, 2025, during an event at Utah Valley University. (@MrsErikaKirk/Instagram)

Local outlets reported Wesley’s sermon occurred around the same time that Kirk’s friends and supporters gathered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening for a memorial service.

High-profile speakers included Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. 

"And we'd do well to be reminded that the best way to honor his memory and to honor his unmatched legacy is to live as Charlie did," Johnson said at the service.

Reps for Wesley’s church did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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