The man who killed at least four worshipers at a Mormon church in Michigan Sept. 28 displayed a Trump sign outside his home and was known to wear MAGA gear.
Authorities have identified Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Mich., as the man who rammed his pickup truck into the front door of the church around 10:30 a.m., opened fire with an assault rifle, then set a fire that destroyed the building.
Burton is located about 6 miles north of Grand Blanc, the small township where the attack occurred. Both communities are located about 60 miles north of Detroit.
Thomas Jacob Sanford wearing a pro-Trump T-shirt.
The Daily Beast reported a June 2025 Google Maps image shows a Trump sign on the killer’s home fence, fueling online accusations and questions about the possible political motives behind the attack.
The central question is whether Sanford was seeking revenge against the Mormon man accused of assassinating Christian nationalist influencer and Trump loyalist Charlie Kirk in Utah Sept. 10.
Since that shooting, “liberals and conservatives have blamed each other’s ideologies for the rise in political violence. Trump has repeatedly pinned the blame on ‘radical left lunatics,’ while Vice President JD Vance and top White House aide Stephen Miller have slammed ‘left-wing extremism,’” Daily Beast noted.
The same trend already has developed around the Michigan church shooting.
“Some social media users have used the Trump placard to claim that he is a Republican, while those across the aisle see the placement of the poster — just above a stop sign — as an indication that he wanted to ‘stop Trump,’” according to the Daily Beast. “Records show that Sanford has no recorded party affiliation, but Michigan has open primaries, so party registration is not required.”
However, social media sites have been flooded with images from multiple sources showing Sanford wearing MAGA hats and shirts on numerous occasions. An image posted on Reddit shows his silver pickup truck rammed half way into the church with two American flags mounted in the bed.
A CNN report identified Sanford, 40, as a Marine and Iraq war veteran, and WWMT TV in Kalamazoo said family and friends claimed he suffered from PTSD.
But Republicans have gone out of their way to at least minimize the possibility Sanford was motivated by MAGA values if not to denigrate him as an opponent of Christian nationalism.
“This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America,” Trump said in a Sept. 28 Truth Social post. He also vowed the FBI would assist state and local law enforcement in the ongoing investigation.
“The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”
During a Sept. 29 interview on Fox & Friends, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt described the attack as a “heinous act” perpetrated by a “crazed gunman” who was religiously motivated.
“From what I understand based on my conversations with the FBI director (Kash Patel), all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith, and they are trying to understand more about this how premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note — all of those questions have yet to be answered,” she said.
Leavitt did not address the issue of whether Sanford’s animosity toward Mormons was driven by or intensified by Kirk’s assassination.
CBS News reported Burton, Mich., city council candidate Kris Johns confirmed Sanford’s anti-Mormon animosity after encountering him during a recent campaign stop: “He said Sanford had a particular dislike of the Latter-day Saints Church, which was previously known as the Mormon church. He said Sanford told him that the church’s followers ‘believe they’re above Jesus.’”
Sanford “‘said nothing about Charlie Kirk, nothing about our current president or past president,’ Johns said. ‘He asked me about guns. I said I support the Second Amendment. We ended the conversation very positively.’”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lauded law enforcement, first responders and state and federal investigators for their handling of the attack but also urged people to avoid jumping to conclusions before investigators finish their work.
“Speculation is unhelpful and it can be downright dangerous,” she said during a Sept. 29 press conference. “So I just ask that people lower the temperature of rhetoric. Keep your loved ones close and keep this community close to your hearts.”