What We Know About the Michigan Church Shooting Suspect’s Political Affiliation

Authorities and journalists are still piecing together the background of Thomas Jacob Sanford, the man accused of carrying out the deadly shooting and arson attack at a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. As investigators search for a motive, part of the public debate has focused on Sanford’s possible political leanings.

Several pieces of evidence suggest Sanford leaned conservative:

• Trump campaign support: A Trump/Vance 2024 campaign sign was displayed in Sanford’s yard. Some initial reports mischaracterized it as an anti-Trump sign, but photos confirmed it was in support of the former president.

• Petition signatures: Records show he signed a petition from Right to Life of Michigan, backing anti-abortion initiatives, and another from the Unlock Michigan campaign, which sought to limit the governor’s emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were championed by conservative activists.

• Religious hostility: Sanford had publicly attacked Mormonism, referring to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “the antichrist.”

What Remains Unclear

Despite these markers, there is no evidence Sanford was formally registered with any political party. In Michigan, voters do not register by party because of the state’s open primary system, meaning his official voter record does not reflect partisan affiliation.

Investigators have also not determined whether politics played any role in motivating the attack. Officials say Sanford’s writings and statements point strongly to religious animus toward Mormons, suggesting that may have been the central factor.

Avoiding Oversimplification

It’s tempting to fit Sanford neatly into a partisan box, especially in today’s polarized climate. However, such tragedies often have multiple layers, personal, ideological, and psychological, that cannot be reduced to simple political identity.

From a centrist perspective, the key point is that while Sanford’s home and past actions show signs of conservative alignment, we do not yet know if politics meaningfully influenced the attack. Law enforcement continues to investigate whether this was primarily a hate crime rooted in religious bigotry, or if political radicalization also played a role.

Until more evidence is released, drawing firm conclusions about Sanford’s political affiliation risks oversimplifying a complex and devastating event.

At the time of this writing, officials had not indicated whether Sanford belonged to a party or whether his politics were connected with the motive for Sunday's shooting, the latter of which officials had also not confirmed. Michigan voters do not register to vote by party affiliation, so it was not possible to establish through public records whether Sanford was registered with a political party. We found no active social media profiles for Sanford at the time of this writing, so it was not possible to establish his political opinions from his online presence.

Some internet users circulated an image appearing to show Sanford wearing a Trump-branded shirt with visible text reading, "Trump 2020" and "Liberals Cry Again." That photo, which appeared to be authentic, came from a 2019 post from a Facebook page dedicated to the suspect's child, who was then 4 years old.

Another image internet users shared as supposed proof of Sanford's political beliefs wasGoogle Street View imagery of Sanford's home from June 2025, showing a Trump sign on a fence. The home in the image did appear to be the one Sandford had lived in since 2016, according to online people search engines Spokeo and BeenVerified. The Trump sign in the image was located just above a stop sign, and it was unclear whether the intended message was pro- or anti-Trump

Source: https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/09/29/michigan-church-shooting-political-affiliation/

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