Tag: religion

FBI Suspects Michigan Church Shooter Hated People of the Mormon Faith

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sept. 29 that the man accused of killing at least four people and injuring eight more at a church in Michigan hated Mormons.

“From what I understand, based on my conversations with the FBI director, 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 but certainly will be answered by the FBI,” she told Fox News in an interview on Sept. 29.

Leavitt said that search warrants are being executed at the home of the suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, to “get to the bottom of why he would commit such an act of evil.”

Sanford’s family is cooperating with the FBI, according to Leavitt. She did not provide more details about the suspect, who was killed by police during the incident.

Sanford, 40, allegedly drove a truck into a chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Grand Blanc before opening fire and setting the structure on fire during a Sunday service, officials said. The attacker allegedly used gasoline to start the fire and also had explosive devices, but it wasn’t clear whether he used them, according to James Dier of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Investigators were searching Sanford’s residence. Authorities did not say what they found or provide any additional details, including whether he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.

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Alleged Mormon Church Shooter Identified — 42 Yr-Old Military Vet — Reportedly Has “ANTI-Trump/Pence” Sign on Fence Attached to His Garage

This morning, only moments after the violent attack on churchgoers in Grand Blanc, MI, the Gateway Pundit reported about the incident.

At the time of the incident, very little was known about the gunman who opened fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on McCandlish Road.

Early reports claimed that 6-8 victims of the gunman had been taken to the hospital, although the exact toll was not confirmed. Later, it was discovered that one person was killed by the alleged shooter and an additional 8 individuals were taken to the hospital. The church caught fire during the incident, triggering a massive four-alarm emergency response.

At a recent press conference, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye did not name the shooter, but did say that the suspect of the mass shooting inside the Mormon Church was a 40-year-old man from Burton, MI, a neighboring city just outside Grand Blanc, roughly 60 miles north of Detroit.

Now, it’s been confirmed that the alleged shooter, who was killed by law enforcement, is Thomas Jacob Sandford, a 40-year-old former U.S. Marine who fought in Iraq.

Law enforcement sources confirmed that investigators were stationed outside Sanford’s home on Atherton Road, which has been cordoned off as a crime scene. Property records list Sanford as the owner of both the residence and a 2008 GMC Sierra pickup truck, the same vehicle used to ram into the church during the attack.

The New York Post claims an old Facebook post by Sanford’s mother says the gunman — who died at the scene in a shootout with cops — served in Iraq from 2004-2008.

Law enforcement sources confirmed that Sanford, from nearby Burton, Michigan, is the shooting suspect. Sources told the Post that authorities also found several improvised explosive devices on church property, which a bomb squad was investigating.

The Gateway Pundit looked up the alleged shooter’s home address and found a Trump-Vance sign wedged behind a STOP sign on what appears to be his property, according to records. We verified his address on SmartBackgroundCheck.com and CheckMyVote.org, where we were able to view his voting record. It appears that the alleged shooter registered to vote in the 2018 midterms following Trump’s first presidential election victory in 2016.

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Iraq War veteran Thomas Sanford ID’d as gunman who attacked Grand Blanc LDS church, killing 2 and setting it ablaze

The deranged madman who killed at least two people and wounded nine others at a Michigan Latter-day Saints church, torching the building and opening fire on fleeing congregants and their families, has been identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, The Post can confirm.

Sanford, a US Marine veteran, according to his mom’s Facebook page, rammed his Chevy Silverado truck into the building before unleashing the assault on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, armed with a semi-automatic rifle.

An old Facebook post by Sanford’s mother says the gunman — who died at the scene in a shootout with cops — who served in Iraq from 2004-2008.

Law enforcement sources confirmed that Sanford, from nearby Burton, Michigan, is the line suspect.

The source of the blaze was not immediately known, but sources told The Post authorities found several improvised explosive devices on church property which a bomb squad was investigating.

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Catholic university tells employees to add preferred pronouns to email signatures

A private Catholic institution in Wisconsin has told its employees to add their preferred pronouns to their email signatures, according to an internal memo obtained by The College Fix.

Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisc., recently sent an email to its employees announcing “a few small but important changes” to its email signature guidelines “to improve consistency, professionalism, and alignment with our updated university brand.”

The guidelines include telling employees not to include image files in email signatures, noting they can not only cause many technical issues but also that “most image files are not correctly labeled to meet ADA compliance requirements.”

The email, which used the subject line “ACTION REQUESTED: Updating email signatures and profile photos,” also asked employees to upload a professional photo to their profile or use a Viterbo logo for hospitality and branding purposes.

The Sept. 2 memo, sent by Viterbo’s Vice President for Marketing, Communications, and Enrollment, Erin Edlund, also gave employees an email signature template to follow that asked them to use either the Helvetica or Georgia font and included a prompt for pronouns.

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Jihad in Texas? Bullets Rain Down on Kids’ Baseball Tournament

A kids’ baseball coach was leading his team in a pre-game prayer when bullets flew across the Ameripark sports complex, locally known as The Rac, in Katy, Texas.

Players ran as the shots rang out. The team’s coach took a bullet to the shoulder. He was evacuated to a hospital by helicopter.

“I have to legit bear crawl to my mom on my arms,” Colton Bierman, 11, told a reporter for KPRC.  

That’s when things got wonky.

I first read NBC’s version of this story, and I immediately smelled a sink badger in the perfume aisle.  

The Operation Mockingbird mouthpiece suggested, with help from The Rac, that the shooting was possibly the result of “hunting” or “recreational shooting.” ABC claimed the Waller County Sheriff attributed the shooting to “target practice,” but when you watch the video — and hear the number of shots fired — these excuses fall apart.

The Rac suggested on Facebook that the shooters were engaging in a little “target practice” roughly 600-700 yards away.

Call me a wackydoodle, but that doesn’t sound like hunting. Nor does it sound like the shooters are 600-700 yards away.

“There was bullets flying everywhere. It wasn’t one shot,” Assistant Coach (for a different team) Corbin Geisendorff stated. “There’s bullets flying everywhere off the poles, onto the field. It’s just unbelievable.”

“I actually went over to the gentleman and saw him, like, right there. I prayed over him,” Geisendorff continued. “There was a gentleman who was already there. They used a belt to tourniquet his arm, you know, stop the bleeding really quick.”

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Popular South Korean Pastor Sits Behind Bars for Speaking Out – Radical Left in South Korea Is Using Democrat Party Tactics to Crush the Opposition

A Pastor Sits Behind Bars for Speaking Out

In a shocking development, South Korean authorities have dismissed a legality review request filed by Pastor Hyunbo Son, keeping him behind bars on allegations of “election law violations.”

On September 24, the Busan District Court rejected Pastor Son’s request for release, citing “flight risk.” Pastor Son’s alleged offense was posting a video of a conversation with a candidate on social media, expressing support for one candidate while criticizing another during an election period.

In South Korea, election law violations are almost always punished with fines.

Detention is nearly unheard of. Yet Pastor Son — who led the “Save Korea” movement and organized mass rallies against the impeachment of President Yoon — is now imprisoned as if he were a dangerous criminal.

Political Persecution Disguised as Law

Observers note that the case goes far beyond technical election law issues. Pastor Son is not an ordinary church leader; he is a conservative Christian figure who mobilized thousands against the left-wing government’s political purge of President Yoon. His imprisonment is widely seen as an attempt to weaken conservative unity and intimidate the Christian community.

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Vermont Christian School Reinstated After Being Banned for Refusing to Compete Against Trans Athlete

A federal appeals court has ruled in a favor of a Christian school in Vermont that was banned by state officials from participating in school competitions for refusing to play against a team with a transgender-identifying athlete. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an order on September 9 overturning a lower court order and granting a preliminary injunction to Mid Vermont Christian School blocking the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) expulsion of the school as litigation goes on, Fox News reported. The panel of judges ruled that the school is “likely to succeed” on its Free Exercise claim because the VPA’s actions show “hostility toward the school’s religious beliefs.” 

In February of 2023, Mid Vermont’s girls basketball team “forfeited a playoff game against Long Trail School” after they found out “a transgender-identifying male student” was on the opposing team. Mid Vermont school officials said at the time that they were concerned about fairness and safety for their female players, according to the report.

A few weeks later, the VPA responded by expelling the Christian school from all state-sponsored sports, as well as non-athletic events such as science fairs and spelling bees.

Alliance Defending Freedom subsequently filed a lawsuit against state officials on behalf to the Christian school and one of its families. The lawsuit alleges that state officials punished the school for exercising its religious liberty, which is protected by the First Amendment.

VPA Executive Director Jay Nichols allegedly accused the school of “blatant discrimination under the guise of religious freedom” just two days after the school forfeited the game, according to court documents. The VPA’s appeals committee also called the school’s safety concerns a “myth” and labeled its religious objection “wrong,” the report states. 

“It is a myth that transgender students endanger others when they participate in high school sports or create unfair competition,” the committee wrote.

Head coach Chris Goodwin, who has held the position for almost a decade and whose daughter is a member of the team, told the outlet that the school’s decision was tough but necessary. 

“It’s clear in Scripture that there is a difference between males and females. So if we decided to play that game, in essence, we’d be agreeing with the state’s belief system that boys can be girls and male athletes can be female athletes,” he said.

Goodwin told the outlet his team had to drive several hours away to neighboring states to compete in a Christian league after the VPA’s decision, which resulted in athletes losing exposure and scholarship opportunities. 

“Athletics in high school and junior high is a really big part of the overall educational experience. So for that to be taken away from the kids was very disappointing, and for them to lose out on opportunities to be recognized in the state as all-state athletes or all-conference athletes and also have the possibility of receiving scholarships is a big deal. And they were denied that opportunity by the state,” he said.

David Cortman, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told the outlet the Second Circuit’s decision should set a precedent and protect other religious schools that face similar dilemmas. 

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Traveler found with ‘human remains’ in bag told airport staff they were for ‘rituals’

A Florida traveler caught with suspected human remains told airport staff they were for ‘rituals’, border officials said. 

The horrifying discovery was made at Tampa International Airport as the passenger was declaring 10 cigars. 

Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists said they recovered what appeared to be human remains, including part of a skull inside a foil-wrapped duffel bag. 

They also uncovered a host of illicit items including prohibited plants, even more cigars and a foil-wrapped duffel bag.

When questioned, the traveler said the remains were ‘for rituals’ according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Director of Field Operations Carlos C. Martel, who posted about the strange discovery last week on X.

He said the items were ‘seized and destroyed’ due to ‘serious health risks.’ 

Martel also took the opportunity to quip about the situation, saying: ‘we never know what baggage may hold, but smugglers should know we’ll always have a bone to pick.’ 

It is unclear where the traveler was going to or coming from or whether they were detained. The case has been handed over to the Department of Homeland Security for investigation.

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Cicero megachurch pastor charged in connection with alleged child sex trafficking operation

A west suburban megachurch pastor is facing federal charges connected to an alleged child sex trafficking operation.

Neighbors told ABC7 that Cicero’s Light of the World Church at 1400 South 58th Court is popular. It is part an international church known by its Spanish name, La Luz Del Mundo.

But the church was closed on Tuesday after federal agents arrested Pastor Joram Núñez Joaquin last Wednesday during a 5 a.m. service, his attorney told ABC7.

Núñez Joaquin’s attorney provided photos in a court motion to try and get the pastor released from federal detention. He is named in a federal case involving California church leaders.

Federal prosecutors claim Núñez Joaquin, from the church’s Cicero branch, posed as an attorney and tried to coerced victims in California to not report alleged incidents. Nuñez Joaquin has pleaded not guilty.

Also last week, Naasón Joaquín García, an alleged relative of Núñez Joaquin, was taken into federal custody.

A newly unsealed indictment out of New York alleges García and co-defendants exploited the church for decades to enable the systemic sexual abuse of children and women for the sexual gratification of García and his father, who died in 2014.

García had been serving a more than 16-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to two state counts.

In Chicago, Núñez Joaquin was in a courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building on Monday, charged with racketeering conspiracy.

His attorney told the judge that Núñez Joaquin is a 37-year-old married father of three children who is not charged with any violence or sex abuse and should be released.

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Dearborn’s Muslim mayor tells Christian he’s ‘not welcome’ in debate on honoring pro-terror Arab leader

At a Dearborn City Council meeting last week, Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud told local resident Edward “Ted” Barham, a Christian, that he was “not welcome” in the city after Barham raised concerns about new street signs honoring Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani.

FOX 2 Detroit reported that the signs honoring Siblani were placed at intersections on Warren Avenue by Wayne County, not the City of Dearborn. But the mayor escalated the debate, telling Barham, “Although you live here, you are not welcome here.”

Barham introduced himself as “Ted Barham, Dearborn resident,” and objected to two intersections being renamed after Siblani.

He said, “He’s a promoter of Hezbollah and Hamas” before quoting past remarks from Siblani, including, “He talks about how the blood of the martyrs irrigates the land of Palestine … whether we are in Michigan and whether we are in Yemen. Believe me, everyone should fight within his means. They will fight with stones, others will fight with guns, others fight with planes, drones, and rockets.” 

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