Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley calls out ‘selective rage’ over Charlie Kirk’s death in fiery viral sermon

Wesley’s sermon drew raucous applause as he denounced the Trump administration, white supremacy, and what he called America’s “selective compassion.”

Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, the popular senior pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., had a word to share this past Sunday. 

In the wake of the shooting death of divisive right-wing personality and commentator Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, conservatives on social media, television, and even in Congress have sung his praises, elevating him to a figure of national import. Vice President J.D. Vance escorted his body via Air Force 2 to Arizona; President Donald Trump ordered flags flown at half-mast, a sight impossible to miss if you are in and around the Washington, D.C. area.

Rev. Wesley, living in the D.C. area, saw the lowered flags, and that sight inspired part of his Sunday message to his congregation, pointing out the seeming double standard in the honor and veneration Kirk has inspired among the right.

“I do not celebrate the killing of anyone. Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be assassinated, he started. “But I’m 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. 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.”

Rev. Wesley only ramped up from there, noting the various calls, from seemingly all sides of the aisle, for compassion for Kirk and his messages, no matter who it harmed.

“And do not tell me I ought to have compassion for the death of a man who had no respect for my own life! I am sorry. But there’s nowhere in Bible where we are taught to honor evil. And how you die does not redeem how you lived,” shouted Rev. Wesley to raucous applause. 

“You do not become a hero in your death when you are a weapon of the enemy in your life. I’m overwhelmed daily, by the historical lies of the narrative of white supremacy and the nation that caters to white guilt and forces me to prove the equality of my Blackness every day. I am overwhelmed listening to the voices of those who think they have this singular right to define and determine who belongs in America and who is an American, when it was my forefathers and my foremothers who built this land. I am overwhelmed.”

Rev. Wesley continued to call attention to what he sees as the double standards at play in how the Trump administration sows division by selectively determining which communities are of value to the country. He used his message to note the amount of money made available for ICE while making cuts to Medicaid and Medicaid, also noting recent reports about over 300,000 Black women being out of work because of administration priorities. He further spoke about what seems to be the tone in the nation’s culture and identity since Trump took office in January, sharing a sentiment that feels all too real for many in impacted communities.

“I’m overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with ICE raids and Klan rallies, and threats against the Smithsonian, and corporations backing off of DEI and executive orders and Supreme Court rulings. I’m overwhelmed by folk who call themselves Christian, simply because they invoke the name Jesus and quote scripture from the Old Testament, but never loved like Jesus, never tried to live like Jesus, never applied the sermon on the mount, bear no fruit of the Spirit. I am overwhelmed!”