Michigan church shooting suspect went on anti-LDS tirade, political candidate said

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https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2025/09/29/thomas-jacob-sanford-michigan-shooting-suspect-anti-lds-tirade/86415139007

Michigan church shooting suspect went on anti-LDS tirade, political candidate said
Andrea May Sahouri
Clara Hendrickson
Detroit Free Press

When Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns heard that someone shot churchgoers and burned down the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sept. 28 in nearby Grand Blanc, he said not once did he think it was the man he spoke to while canvassing less than a week prior who went on a tirade against the church and described Mormons as "the antichrist."

The man was outgoing, polite, and "extremely friendly," Johns said. And his animosity toward the church didn't seem violent, he said — “it was very much standard anti-LDS talking points that you would find on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook.”

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He said Sanford began asking him open-ended questions about Mormonism, first asking how Johns felt about the religion. And the more questions Sanford asked on the topic, the more pointed they became, Johns said. He said Sanford asked him about the Mormon bible, the role Jesus plays in the religion, the history of the LDS church and Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of Mormonism and the LDS movement.

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But Johns said everything Sanford asked him about Mormonism led to Sanford declaring the religion as "the antichrist" {emphasis added}.

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