A Ford Motor Co. employee was suspended after heckling President Donald Trump during his visit to a factory in Dearborn, Michigan. The worker raised over $800,000 in GoFundMe donations in less than 24 hours, according to fundraising pages and reporting by Business Insider.
The employee, TJ Sabula, told The Washington Post that he yelled “pedophile protector” at Trump on Tuesday during the president’s tour of the plant where Ford builds its popular F-150 pickup. Video from the event, obtained by TMZ and referenced by Business Insider, shows Trump responding by raising his middle finger and appearing to curse as he walked away.
The White House called the heckler “a lunatic” who “was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage,” according to Business Insider.
A source from the United Auto Workers confirmed to Business Insider that Sabula was suspended. Laura Dickerson, a UAW vice president, said in an email that the union is examining the suspension. “The autoworker at the Dearborn Truck Plant is a proud member of a strong and fighting union, the UAW,” Dickerson wrote. “He believes in freedom of speech, a principle we fully support, and we stand with our members in protecting their voice at work.”
Dickerson also criticized Trump’s reaction in the video. “Workers should never face vulgar language or behavior from anyone, including the President of the United States,” she said.
By Wednesday evening, two GoFundMe campaigns supporting Sabula had raised over $480,000 and about $330,000, according to the campaign pages cited by Business Insider. Both pages listed “Thomas Sabula” as the beneficiary and later paused new donations.
UAW worker at Ford factory on Trump flipping him off after he called Trump a “pedophile protector”:
“Definitely no regrets whatsoever.” pic.twitter.com/KU2rjDgvZX
— FactPost (@factpostnews) January 14, 2026
One fundraiser, organized by Sean Williams, reported $480,925 raised from around 21,500 donations. It included an update stating the organizer transferred control of the fundraiser to Sabula. The text urged supporters to “help him pay some bills” and also mentioned demands for the release of files related to the federal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.
A second fundraiser, organized by Diandra Gourlay, described her as “a longtime personal friend of the Sabula family” and stated that donations would support Sabula and his family during the suspension. The page identified Sabula as a father of two and a UAW Local 600 line worker.
Business Insider reported that both campaigns paused donations and posted the same update thanking donors while encouraging support for other causes. “TJ and his family greatly appreciate the outpouring of support! At this time, we are closing donations to this campaign and encourage you to look for other causes and organizations to support,” the update said.
Sabula told The Washington Post he had “no regrets whatsoever,” Business Insider reported. “I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” he added.
The spike in donations followed Trump’s visit, which Business Insider described as aimed at highlighting the White House’s focus on rebuilding the U.S. workforce and Ford’s efforts to create a blue-collar workforce pipeline.
