Michigan church attack suspect's parent-trump shirt is not fake12:39 Published on BST
Shayan Sardarizadeh and Joshua Cheetham
BBC verification
While some online users have allegedly edited or fake virus photos of suspects in Michigan church attacks wearing Pro Trump shirts, BBC confirmations have found no evidence to suggest that the photos will be manipulated.
Last night, Democrat Eric Swalwell posted a photo of the suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, along with his wife and son. In the photo, Sanford's camouflage shirt is decorated with Trump cartoons and the words “Reelection of Trump 2020” and “Make Liberals cry again.”
In an X post directly to JD Vance, Swalwell said he is confident that the Republican vice president “agrees that it doesn't matter that Michigan terrorists are Magazine supporters.” Vance recently raised his voice by denounceling people on the left for the fatal shootings of Charlie Kirk and immigrants at a Dallas immigration facility.
Authorities have yet to establish a motive for an attack on Grand Blanc's Mormon Church, resulting in four deaths and eight injuries.
Following Swalwell's post, some users shared a cropped version of the same photo where the Sanford shirt doesn't have a Pro Trump design. They claimed that the photos posted by Swalwell were seemingly edited to frame the president's supporters.
The BBC confirmed that it had traced photos of the original family on a Facebook page believed to be run by Sanford and his wife.
The photo, posted in September 2019 to celebrate my son's fourth birthday, does not appear to have any previous edits.
We've also seen the campaign design for Trump 2020 and the same words on shirts that can be purchased online.
