Left-wing commentator Don Lemon claimed that the religious aspects of Charlie Kirk‘s memorial service were centered on the language of “domination” instead of “democracy.” Kirk was assassinated on September 10 at Utah Valley University.

“Donald Trump stood on the stage like a man at the center of a prophecy he called Charlie Kirk a martyr. Other politicians promised to carry out his mission. The crowd cheered as if the passing of the man had lit some sort of sacred fire. To me, this was not mourning. This was a mobilization,” Lemon said.

“And here is where we have to tell the truth. Here, what we saw in that arena was not simply faith finding public expression. It was religious nationalism on full display. That is the truth. That is my truth. This is my freedom of expression. This is my First Amendment right to be able to tell you the truth from my point of view, not just from my point of view. This is what it is. The language is unmistakable, ‘Take the nation back for God,’ ‘Restore America’s covenant,’ ‘This is a holy calling,’ That’s what it sounded like. This is not the language of democracy. This is the language of domination,” he added.

Lemon continued along these lines, said that when the politicians “wrap themselves in Scripture” they were “demanding submission” and are not “calling us to virtue.” Lemon faced heavy backlash from the comments online on Monday.

During the event on Sunday, Erika Kirk, the wife of Charlie Kirk, speaking to the world, publicly announced her forgiveness of the shooter, citing scripture from where Christ told God to forgive those who crucified Him.

“On the cross, our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do. That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do,” she said.

Other speakers shared messages that also revolved around their Christian faith.