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Swede

(37,594 posts)
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 08:15 AM Oct 3

GOP Silent as Mormon Church Gunman Identified as 'Ultra MAGA' Trump Supporter

Oops

As the nation reels from another devastating mass shooting—this time at a Mormon church in suburban Michigan—Republican leaders have remained notably silent following revelations that the gunman was a devoted Trump supporter who once proudly wore the label “Ultra MAGA.”

Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old Marine veteran from Grand Blanc Township, plowed his pickup truck into a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday before opening fire on worshippers. Ten people were shot. Four are dead. The church was later engulfed in flames after Sanford used an accelerant to set it ablaze. Two of the victims died from gunshot wounds, and two more bodies were recovered from the debris.

Sanford in a camouflage Trump 2020 shirt that read “Make Liberals Cry Again,” and a Trump-Pence sign still visible on his front lawn just months ago, the political implications became harder to ignore.

So far, Republican leaders have said nothing.

https://dailyboulder.com/gop-silent-as-mormon-church-gunman-identified-as-ultra-maga-trump-supporter/

47 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
GOP Silent as Mormon Church Gunman Identified as 'Ultra MAGA' Trump Supporter (Original Post) Swede Oct 3 OP
Shocked! I tell you. Shocked! Liberal In Texas Oct 3 #1
im not AllaN01Bear Oct 3 #27
Kick BlueWaveNeverEnd Oct 3 #2
Republicans own this church massacre Champp Oct 3 #3
They own the majority of the violence that is happening around the country. OldBaldy1701E Oct 3 #7
Yes. The numbers tell the story Champp Oct 3 #24
I'm thinking MyOwnPeace Oct 3 #40
You grok well. (n/t) OldBaldy1701E Oct 4 #46
Bully bullets BattleRow Oct 3 #44
It's Magacide gopiscrap Oct 3 #32
So, which is less surprising? Paladin Oct 3 #4
Or their response? Delmette2.0 Oct 3 #31
picture Be Leave On Oct 3 #41
And after they stampeded to get in front of TV cameras after Kirk's murder. tanyev Oct 3 #5
They were praying for some transgender connection. sop Oct 3 #17
Why would they? They approve! (n/t) OldBaldy1701E Oct 3 #6
Oh no way! Kingofalldems Oct 3 #8
Was she trans too? durablend Oct 3 #12
Not seen on a billboard. usonian Oct 3 #9
I love that gopiscrap Oct 3 #33
Steal my graphic! Share! usonian Oct 3 #34
They are addicted to fear, hate and violence Clouds Passing Oct 3 #10
Well, over the years they have learned that it gets results. OldBaldy1701E Oct 4 #47
Figured he was hardcore MAGA the way Law enforcement was acting when they immediately learned of his MAGANESS. RedWhiteBlueIsRacist Oct 3 #11
DTs response was telling Cosmocat Oct 3 #13
Is that source credible? It would be nice to see the actual evidence instead of just allusions to it. xocetaceans Oct 3 #14
Oh so they didn't find bullets with leftist writings this time? IronLionZion Oct 3 #15
The FBI didn't have time to plant them. It takes a while to engrave a shelll casing Ray Bruns Oct 3 #30
His younger brother, in a recent family photo, was sporting a t-shirt that bragged: wolfie001 Oct 3 #16
"An act of targeted violence, though a motive has not been confirmed." lees1975 Oct 3 #18
That seems likely Martin Eden Oct 3 #21
OmissionLie multigraincracker Oct 3 #19
It's not just the GOP mn9driver Oct 3 #20
When a MAGA Trump supporter does it, he's a lone wolf disturbed individual Martin Eden Oct 3 #22
Of course Rebl2 Oct 3 #23
DOJ removes study on right wing violence surfered Oct 3 #25
What, nothing about rhetoric being to blame? Ohioboy Oct 3 #26
KICK orangecrush Oct 3 #28
Honestly it would be good for society NoPasaran Oct 3 #29
Brain Dead Hate Stuffed Psycho. Just Cha Oct 3 #35
It was clear to me that the media knew this a while ago ToxMarz Oct 3 #36
They're all deeply in denial Warpy Oct 3 #37
... Initech Oct 3 #38
It was "disappeared" out of the news like the antivax quack who shot up CDC buildings in Atlanta BumRushDaShow Oct 3 #39
I wouldn't be surprised if this guy watched college football on TV. Sibelius Fan Oct 3 #42
"There was a shooting? Must have been a patriot shooting at libtard Mormons. Flags at half staff for him." Wonder Why Oct 3 #43
From Republican leadership - not even two tots and one pear for the people who lost their lives 3Hotdogs Oct 3 #45

OldBaldy1701E

(9,318 posts)
7. They own the majority of the violence that is happening around the country.
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 09:07 AM
Oct 3

They will never admit to that.

But, it is on them. They know it deep down. They also know that there will be a reckoning over this.

Because if there isn't, then we have learned nothing.

MyOwnPeace

(17,388 posts)
40. I'm thinking
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 04:27 PM
Oct 3

‘We’ve learned nothing……….’

Evidence: IQ-47 got re-elected, didn’t he?

Paladin

(31,782 posts)
4. So, which is less surprising?
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 08:51 AM
Oct 3

1. The fact that the gunman was "Ultra MAGA," or

2. The GOP's silence about it?

Apologies for hitting you with such a tough one...

Be Leave On

(348 posts)
41. picture
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 06:30 PM
Oct 3

His picture shown on the linked Daily Boulder article makes him look like a very stable genius.

OldBaldy1701E

(9,318 posts)
47. Well, over the years they have learned that it gets results.
Sat Oct 4, 2025, 09:28 AM
Oct 4

So, they keep on doing it, because it keeps on getting results.

RedWhiteBlueIsRacist

(1,269 posts)
11. Figured he was hardcore MAGA the way Law enforcement was acting when they immediately learned of his MAGANESS.
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 09:30 AM
Oct 3

Not once did I hear broadcast media speak of the killer's political leanings in the aftermath of the killings, either.

Cosmocat

(15,307 posts)
13. DTs response was telling
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 09:41 AM
Oct 3

"Another attack on christianity"

They HAVE to be the victim, but clearly it was backloaded - not saying by whom.

xocetaceans

(4,287 posts)
14. Is that source credible? It would be nice to see the actual evidence instead of just allusions to it.
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 09:42 AM
Oct 3
...

But as photos and social media posts surfaced showing Sanford in a camouflage Trump 2020 shirt that read “Make Liberals Cry Again,” and a Trump-Pence sign still visible on his front lawn just months ago, the political implications became harder to ignore.

...

https://dailyboulder.com/gop-silent-as-mormon-church-gunman-identified-as-ultra-maga-trump-supporter/





...

Overall, we rate The Daily Boulder Left Biased and Questionable based on a lack of transparency, poor sourcing, promotion of propaganda, and failed fact checks.

Detailed Report
Reasoning: Propaganda, Poor Sourcing, Lack of Transparency, Failed Fact Checks
Bias Rating: FAR LEFT (-8.5)
Factual Reporting: MIXED (6.3)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-daily-boulder-bias/


IronLionZion

(50,086 posts)
15. Oh so they didn't find bullets with leftist writings this time?
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 09:44 AM
Oct 3


That's the only evidence that matters in this administration. Liberals love to write stuff on bullets.

wolfie001

(6,294 posts)
16. His younger brother, in a recent family photo, was sporting a t-shirt that bragged:
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 09:47 AM
Oct 3

"Proud to be a virgin" or something pathetic like that. It'd be laughable but that christian household produced a cold and calculating killer. Very representative of the hateful crowd that are part of the tRUMP regime. I suggest removing all "friends and family" from any future gatherings if they support these monsters.

lees1975

(6,794 posts)
18. "An act of targeted violence, though a motive has not been confirmed."
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 10:02 AM
Oct 3

Oh, let me help with that.

A Mormon shot Charlie Kirk.

Settled.

mn9driver

(4,787 posts)
20. It's not just the GOP
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 10:17 AM
Oct 3

This whole story disappeared from the headlines as soon as it became clear that the shooter was MAGA.

Martin Eden

(14,974 posts)
22. When a MAGA Trump supporter does it, he's a lone wolf disturbed individual
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 10:22 AM
Oct 3

When someone on the right is targeted, the entire "Left" and the Democratic Party are to blame -- even before any facts about the shooter are known.

Rebl2

(17,089 posts)
23. Of course
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 10:24 AM
Oct 3

not. They won’t ever say anything, unless it’s to say he’s mentally ill.

NoPasaran

(17,316 posts)
29. Honestly it would be good for society
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 11:01 AM
Oct 3

Honestly it would be good for society to accept that no political tendency has a monopoly on deranged lunatics with access to firearms.

ToxMarz

(2,581 posts)
36. It was clear to me that the media knew this a while ago
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 02:57 PM
Oct 3

by the lack of reporting anything about it even happening, while they were still reporting daily about the Kirk shooter (which Trump would approve of). They knew they couldn't say what they knew about the mormon church attacker without raising the ire of Trump and his base, so they pretended like it didn't happen rather than dance around the story.

Warpy

(114,038 posts)
37. They're all deeply in denial
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 04:09 PM
Oct 3

except for the ones who thunder that the punk was an agent of gawd sent to punish (whomever for whatever, they're always real hazy on that part). MAGAts are so deeply convinced they're wearing the white hats (red caps to the contrary) that one of their own couldn't possibly have done this, there must be some mistake.

Um, no mistake, guys, we on the left have been steeped in the teachings of Gandhi, Mandela, and MLK, Jr. for so long it's in our DNA. Believers tend to follow hippie socialist Jesus who found a better way to live rather than Avenging Jehovah. Short term, most of these gun goons are going to be all yours.

MAGAts are having a lot of cognitive dissonance these days with Limbaugh still dead and King Wurst too demented to fill their empty heads with snappy slogans this term, they're all getting a little desperate.

Expect more of these guys to act out and expect a lot of them to act out against their own for lapses in orthodoxy.

BumRushDaShow

(161,704 posts)
39. It was "disappeared" out of the news like the antivax quack who shot up CDC buildings in Atlanta
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 04:17 PM
Oct 3

Sibelius Fan

(24,748 posts)
42. I wouldn't be surprised if this guy watched college football on TV.
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 08:29 PM
Oct 3

Those damn librul colleges are so powerful that even watching their football teams on TV can easily radicalize a good Xian over to the radical left. After that, a mass shooting is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Wonder Why

(6,262 posts)
43. "There was a shooting? Must have been a patriot shooting at libtard Mormons. Flags at half staff for him."
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 09:12 PM
Oct 3

:sarcasm"

3Hotdogs

(14,677 posts)
45. From Republican leadership - not even two tots and one pear for the people who lost their lives
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 11:04 PM
Oct 3

on behalf of Charlie Kirk's 2nd Amendment rights.

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