WATCH: Missouri AG torches Kansas City's 'retaliation' against Chiefs kicker for expressing Christian beliefs
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey isn't holding back on his criticism of the Kansas City mayor's office after it doxxed Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in a post on X.
The city's official X account revealed the location of Butker's residence in a now-deleted X post – something Bailey says was clear "retaliation" from the left – after the star kicker's viral commencement speech at Benedictine College earlier this month.
"Butker is the target of discrimination on the basis of his religion. This is a Christian of the Catholic faith who was giving a commencement address at a Catholic university, to an audience that was supportive of the message he was delivering. And the backlash has been discriminatory against him," Bailey told Fox News Digital in an interview.
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Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (Getty Images)
"It's prophetic. If you actually listen to the opening remarks he provides, he establishes that the left wants to silence Christian voices, wants to drive Christian thought, Christian ideals, expression of Christian beliefs from public discourse, from the public domain. And that's exactly what the left has done in retaliation against Harrison Butker's free exercise of religion," he said.
Bailey argued Butker was protected by the First Amendment, as well as the Missouri Human Rights Act, and vowed to hold Kansas City officials, including Mayor Quinton Lucas, accountable for the social media post.
"It's retaliation and bullying on behalf of a government official within the municipality of Kansas City," Bailey said.
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Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Oct. 20, 2022, in his office at City Hall. (Emily Curiel/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"We've demanded accountability within the mayor's office in Kansas City as it relates to this social media account, and demanded certain documents so that we can have a better understanding of what control measures are in place to prevent this sort of thing from happening again, who has access to this account, what are the guidelines under which people are allowed to post on this account," he said.
Bailey added that "the woke left" acted as its own religion, that they "worship themselves," and "worship an ideology that is infinitely self-destructive."
"They, of course, seek to eliminate any market competitor in the marketplace of ideas, and Christianity is a threat to their existence," he said. "Whereas Christianity teaches love and potential salvation through Christ, the woke left rejects that and hates that and, and wants there to be more division, more divisiveness, more bigotry against Christians, and that's what we're fighting against."
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Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker speaks to the media during Super Bowl LVIII opening night, Feb. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Butker came under fire last week after delivering a speech to new graduates of the Catholic liberal arts college, focusing on the importance of being "unapologetically Catholic."
His address included barbs at President Biden for his pro-abortion stance and supporting young women in the "vocation" of marriage and motherhood. He also referred to pride month as a "deadly sin."
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For Butker's stances on faith and family, both the media and the NFL alike condemned the speech. The NFL explicitly distanced itself from Butker, saying "his views are not those of the NFL as an organization." Others, however, including various elected officials and conservative groups, have come to his defense.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Kansas City mayor's office for comment.
Fox News' Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
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