Michigan church attack suspect’s pro-Trump shirt is not fakepublished at 12:39 BST
12:39 BST
Shayan Sardarizadeh and Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify
Some online users have claimed a viral photo of the suspect in the Michigan church attack wearing a pro-Trump shirt is edited or fake, but BBC Verify has found no evidence to suggest the photo is manipulated.
Last night, Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell posted a photo of the suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, posing with his wife and son. In the photo, Sanford’s camouflage shirt is emblazoned with a Trump cartoon and the words “re-elect Trump 2020” and “make liberals cry again”.
In a post on X directly addressing JD Vance, Swalwell said he was sure the Republican vice-president “agrees with me that it doesn’t matter that the Michigan terrorist was a MAGA supporter”. Vance has recently been vocal in blaming people on the left for the fatal shootings of Charlie Kirk and migrants at a Dallas immigration facility.
The authorities have yet to establish a motive for the attack on the Mormon church in Grand Blanc, which led to four deaths and eight injuries.
Following Swalwell’s post, some users shared a cropped version of the same photo in which Sanford’s shirt does not carry a pro-Trump design. They claimed that the photo posted by Swalwell was deceptively edited to frame the president’s supporters.
BBC Verify traced the original family photo to a Facebook page apparently run by Sanford and his wife, which documents the journey of their son who was born with a rare genetic disorder.
The photo, posted in September 2019 to celebrate the son’s fourth birthday, does not appear to have any previous edits.
We have also seen the Trump 2020 campaign design and the same words on shirts that can be purchased online.