The recent spate of mass shootings has indicated that no ideology or demographic has a particular monopoly on political violence. But a lot of people, including the president, seem to wish to imply otherwise.
Over the weekend, a gunman opened fire at a Mormon Church in Grand Blanc Township, Mich., later setting the building on fire. As of early Monday morning, four people were confirmed killed and eight wounded.
The gunman was shot and killed by police. Authorities, per the AP, have identified the shooter as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old Marine veteran who served in the Iraq war. The FBI is treating the crime as an “act of targeted violence.” It’s not clear if Sanford was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or if he had any specific axe to grind with that church.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, President Donald Trump declared that “the suspect is dead, but there is still a lot to learn. This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America.”
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However, if the president was implying that the alleged shooter had been motivated by a leftist ideology, that doesn’t seem to be true in this case, as at least one photo has surfaced of Sanford wearing pro-Trump apparel.
Immediately after the Michigan shooting, Trump implied the shooter was an anti-Christian leftist.
We now know the background of the shooter.
Here he is wearing a “Make Liberals Cry Again” shirt: pic.twitter.com/XRrclNWYzo
— Micah (@micah_erfan) September 29, 2025
Thomas Jacob Sanford voted for Trump in 2016, had a bunch of flags on his truck, was against pandemic lockdowns, and was pro-life. Aside from being a white man, he’s probably a “Christian” right-winger. pic.twitter.com/e3iiui4AdI
— Carol, FIGHT MAGA FASCISM (@CR_1257) September 28, 2025
We all knew it was stupid for @JDVance and other Republican leaders to claim that violence only comes from the left.
We didn’t have to wait long to be proven right.
Thomas Jacob Sanford has been identified as the LDS shooter/arsonist. He was a former Marine and Trump supporter. pic.twitter.com/Wdb3WihXLQ
— JΛKΣ (@USMCLiberal) September 28, 2025
Tom Sanford was a “Christian” MAGA Trump supporter. pic.twitter.com/PTc3BcE9wj
— Life’s a Beach (@hensnbitties) September 29, 2025
On Thomas Jacob Sanford’s* property as of June of 2025 (per Google Maps).
*The Michigan LDS shooter.
Note that if we don’t do this kind of research, Trump and his disinformation machine will make this guy into a left-wing trans immigrant. pic.twitter.com/9oss3symqF
— William Coffin (@CoffinItUp) September 28, 2025
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
