Yesterday, Burton, MI, resident and suspected Mormon terror suspect, 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sandford, drove his truck into a nearby Grand Blanc, MI, Mormon church. Once inside the church, he reportedly opened fire on hundreds of parishioners. To date, four Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members have died as a result of the attack. Law enforcement is saying that more casualties may be discovered, as Sandford also lit the church on fire, and first responders are still searching for bodies in the fire.
BREAKING: Video shows church on fire as officials respond to active shooter with multiple victims at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan.#BREAKING pic.twitter.com/58JLauoXBZ
— Jamililer (@JamilKhabir396) September 28, 2025
This morning, I spoke with Kris Johns, a candidate for Burton City Council, who was shocked to see the news of the suspect behind the Mormon Church attack in the neighboring community of Grand Blanc, MI. Johns, who frequently knocks on doors as part of his campaign, quickly discovered that the man accused of the terror attack on the Mormon church was the same guy he spoke with in the suspect’s front yard, only 6 days before the attack, while he was campaigning for votes. The suspect stood out to Johns, as he distinctly remembered his discussion about Mormons, “He went off on a tangent,” the Burton City Council candidate told us.
Our conversation began with a question about a sign the Gateway Pundit discovered on the alleged Mormon terrorist’s home. I explained to Mr. Johns that while investigating the alleged Mormon terrorist, I found his home on Google Maps. While looking at his property, I noticed a Trump sign, which was tucked behind a STOP sign on the fence attached to his garage. Mr. Johns confirmed, “Yes, I do remember seeing that,” but confirmed that the suspect didn’t appear to be interested in engaging in any discussion about politics and showed no allegiance to any political ideology.
Kris Johns told us that although many on social media are attempting to make this a “Left vs. Right” issue, he spoke with him for about 20 minutes and “Not one time did he mention the current President, the former President, Charlie Kirk, or any past President.” He explained that, in addition to about five minutes of personal banter, the rest of the conversation was focused exclusively on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mr. Johns recalled that his initial conversation with Sandford was “very jovial” and that they had a “very nice chit chat” that he would call “very polite.” The Burton City Council candidate shared a memory about how the alleged shooter responded when he attempted to park his car in Sandford’s driveway to have a discussion with the potential voter.
Johns confirmed that he had never met Sandford before, but while backing up his vehicle to park, he accidentally bumped into his mailbox. The alleged shooter told him not to worry about it and never got upset or showed any signs of anger. According to Johns, Thomas Sandford never showed any signs of anger throughout their 20-minute conversation in front of his home.
According to Johns, the shooting suspect, Thomas Jacob Sandford, noticed Mr. Johns had his special needs daughter in the car with him, and confided that he also has a special needs son “who needed a G-tube.”
The Burton City Council member explained that when he’s “door-knocking,” he likes to keep his conversations short so he can reach as many voters as possible, but Mr. Sandford appeared to want to engage in a more lengthy conversation with him. Johns recalled that the very first question Sandford asked the city council candidate was about his thoughts on guns. “What do you think about guns?” the accused Mormon Church terrorist asked him. The Burton City Council candidate replied, “I support the 2nd Amendment.” Johns told us that Sandford “Immediately followed up his first question with, ‘What are your thoughts on Mormons?’”
Mr. Johns recalled that each subsequent question that Sandford asked became narrower in scope, and they were all specifically about the Mormon Church. The Burton City Council candidate did his best to respond to the questions, although he admitted that he is not an expert on the topic.
“I know the basic tenets,” he told Sandford. “And then we talked about certain religious practices, and the Mormon bible, and how he believed there are additional books that put some people on the same level as Jesus, and [how the shooting suspect believed] that’s not right.” (Kris Johns explained that he was only summarizing the words the suspected terrorist used to describe the Mormon faith). “Of course, I’m paraphrasing,” he said, adding, “And really, what I came away with is that [Sandford believed] Mormons are the anti-Christ.”
During their lengthy discussion, the alleged Mormon Church terrorist also shared some possible insight as to why he hated Mormons. “What he also shared was, “I was in the Marines, and I had a drug problem. And then, to start new, I moved to Utah to plow snow, and I met Miss Utah’s sister.’ And he didn’t give me any additional context,” Johns explained. “And remember, this is a gentleman — whom I just pulled off the side of the road —and he’s sharing all of this additional information, and I’m not asking any questions. And I’m just there, and I’m engaging with this person, and I’m not going to just walk away. Because when you campaign, you end up having a conversation. Johns explained that after he gave his background, “The very next question was, ‘What do you know about Mormons?’” Mr. Johns revealed that the shooter, who had several tattoos, also confided in him that “They [the Mormon church]wanted me to get my tattoos removed.”
I asked Kris Johns to tell us if the shooter ever told him how he was tied to the Mormon church, to which he responded, “He didn’t tell me how, but the questions he asked indicated that he had a more than common understanding of the Church of Latter Day Saints,” Johns said. He explained that the Mormon terror suspect brought up questions about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and asked if he knew how Smith died, indicating to Johns that he had more than just a basic knowledge of the Mormon Church and its history.
“He largely said that Mormons are the anti-Christ and that they’re not Christians, and that they put people above Jesus and nobody’s above Jesus,” Johns said. I asked if Sandford specifically told him that “Mormons are the anti-Christ,” and he responded, “Yes, one hundred percent!”
Mr. Johns told us that he doesn’t believe that the shooting was in any way related to politics, but instead, was 100% related to his anti-Mormon beliefs.
Kris Johns sent a recording of a voicemail he left for a good friend, Mark, a Mormon who lives in Orum, Utah. Johns sent the voicemail when he tried to call him on Friday, only 3 days before the attack, to share his bizarre conversation with the suspected Mormon terrorist. In his 43-second voicemail, Johns told his friend that he had just knocked on the door of a guy, “a former Marine who went to Iraq, who went on a ‘tirade’ about Mormons.
@gatewaypundit EXCLUSIVE voicemail message from Burton, MI City Council candidate Kris Johns to Mormon friend living in Utah about an insane campaign stop he made with Thomas Jacob Sandford, who “went on a tirade about the Church of Latter-day Saints.”
Johns made a campaign stop… pic.twitter.com/yyic1GpRt2
— PattyMI (@PattyLovesTruth) September 29, 2025
The Burton City Council candidate said he’s just trying to win his race, and never in a million years would he have believed that the man who he happened to stop and have a conversation with to ask for his vote only less than one week before the terror attack on the local Mormon church, was about to “turn his truck into a missile.” He has spoken with the FBI and Michigan State Police to share everything he knows.
The post “MORMONS ARE THE ANTI-CHRIST!” City Council Member Kris Johns Reveals Conversation He Had Last Week With Suspect In Mormon Church Terror Attack While Campaigning—A Gateway Pundit Exclusive [VIDEO] appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.