On Monday morning, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt referenced conversations with FBI director Kash Patel and said the 40-year-old alleged Michigan church attacker “hated” Mormons.
Leavitt was on FOX & Friends, where she said, “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.”
She continued, “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.”
Breitbart News reported that the 40-year-old alleged church attacker was a U.S. Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War. He allegedly drove a vehicle into the church building Sunday morning, exited the vehicle, and began shooting at innocents, and was shot dead minutes later by police officers.
At some point during the attack the man also set fire to the church.
During a Sunday night press conference an ATF official stated the agency believes the 40-year-old may have used gasoline to get the fire going.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
