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President Donald Trump tours the assembly line at the Ford River Rouge Complex on January 13, 2026 in Dearborn, Michigan.
(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Donations to Auto Worker Suspended for Heckling Trump Soar Past $800,000
"We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support!" autoworker TJ Sabula said to donors.
Jan 16, 2026
Fundraisers for TJ Sabula, the auto worker who called President Donald Trump a “pedophile protector,” are being flooded with cash from supporters following news that he was suspended from his job at a Ford truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
Two separate GoFundMe campaigns aimed at raising money for Sabula have raked in a total of over $800,000 just three days after the auto worker heckled Trump for his attempts to block the release of files related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump responded to Sabula's taunts by giving him the middle finger, while appearing to mouth or yell “fuck you” back at the auto worker.
Sabula on Wednesday expressed gratitude to all the people who had chipped in for the crowdfunding campaign so far.
"We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support!" he wrote at the "TJ Sabula is a Patriot" GoFundMe page. "At this time we are closing donations to this campaign and encourage you to look for other causes and organizations to support. We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!"
In addition to the outpouring of support from strangers, Sabula got the backing of the United Auto Workers (UAW), which described the suspended worker as "a proud member of a strong and fighting union,” further noting that “he believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job."
UAW vowed that Sabula will receive “the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member.”
In a Tuesday interview published by the Washington Post, Sabula said he had “no regrets whatsoever” about yelling at the president, despite the uncertain future he now faces at his job.
“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula told the Post. “And today I think I did that.”
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Fundraisers for TJ Sabula, the auto worker who called President Donald Trump a “pedophile protector,” are being flooded with cash from supporters following news that he was suspended from his job at a Ford truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
Two separate GoFundMe campaigns aimed at raising money for Sabula have raked in a total of over $800,000 just three days after the auto worker heckled Trump for his attempts to block the release of files related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump responded to Sabula's taunts by giving him the middle finger, while appearing to mouth or yell “fuck you” back at the auto worker.
Sabula on Wednesday expressed gratitude to all the people who had chipped in for the crowdfunding campaign so far.
"We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support!" he wrote at the "TJ Sabula is a Patriot" GoFundMe page. "At this time we are closing donations to this campaign and encourage you to look for other causes and organizations to support. We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!"
In addition to the outpouring of support from strangers, Sabula got the backing of the United Auto Workers (UAW), which described the suspended worker as "a proud member of a strong and fighting union,” further noting that “he believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job."
UAW vowed that Sabula will receive “the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member.”
In a Tuesday interview published by the Washington Post, Sabula said he had “no regrets whatsoever” about yelling at the president, despite the uncertain future he now faces at his job.
“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula told the Post. “And today I think I did that.”
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Fundraisers for TJ Sabula, the auto worker who called President Donald Trump a “pedophile protector,” are being flooded with cash from supporters following news that he was suspended from his job at a Ford truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
Two separate GoFundMe campaigns aimed at raising money for Sabula have raked in a total of over $800,000 just three days after the auto worker heckled Trump for his attempts to block the release of files related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump responded to Sabula's taunts by giving him the middle finger, while appearing to mouth or yell “fuck you” back at the auto worker.
Sabula on Wednesday expressed gratitude to all the people who had chipped in for the crowdfunding campaign so far.
"We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support!" he wrote at the "TJ Sabula is a Patriot" GoFundMe page. "At this time we are closing donations to this campaign and encourage you to look for other causes and organizations to support. We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!"
In addition to the outpouring of support from strangers, Sabula got the backing of the United Auto Workers (UAW), which described the suspended worker as "a proud member of a strong and fighting union,” further noting that “he believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job."
UAW vowed that Sabula will receive “the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member.”
In a Tuesday interview published by the Washington Post, Sabula said he had “no regrets whatsoever” about yelling at the president, despite the uncertain future he now faces at his job.
“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula told the Post. “And today I think I did that.”
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