As the nation reeled following the killing of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk , one epicenter of mourning was the Ventura County church whose pastor helped inspire Kirk’s cheerleading for President Trump and jeremiads against the secular left.

“My friend Charlie Kirk was murdered today by a coward. His life will be remembered for many wonderful things,” Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. McCoy gained renown for defying COVID-related bans on in-person church services, slamming Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom as “Newssolini” and decrying government “tyranny.”

Kirk credited McCoy as the religious leader who encouraged him to combine his Christianity with his conservative political beliefs. In a 2021 interview, Kirk said t

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