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michigan
Trump-Heckling Auto Worker Keeps His Job and Faces No Discipline: UAW
"That's a union brother who spoke up," said UAW president Shawn Fain. "He put his constitutional rights to work. He put his union rights to work."
Feb 09, 2026
TJ Sabula, the auto worker who called President Donald Trump a “pedophile protector" last month, is reportedly keeping his job.
According to a report from the Detroit News, United Auto Workers (UAW) vice president Laura Dickerson said on Monday that Sabula is not getting fired from his job at a Ford truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan, and he will not face any discipline for his heckling of the president.
Dickerson, who discussed Sabula's case at the UAW's annual Community Action Program conference in Washington, DC, also took a shot at Trump for giving Sabula the middle finger while appearing to mouth or yell “fuck you” back at the auto worker.
"In that moment, we saw what the president really thinks about working people," Dickerson said. "As UAW members, we speak truth to power. We don't just protect rights, we exercise them."
UAW president Shawn Fain also took time during the conference to offer appreciation for Sabula, the Detroit News reported.
"That's a union brother who spoke up," said Fain. "He put his constitutional rights to work. He put his union rights to work."
Sabula, who said he decided to called Trump a "pedophile protecter" for his attempts to block the release of files related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had been suspended from his job after the incident took place.
Critics of the president quickly rushed to Sabula's aid, however, as two separate GoFundMe campaigns aimed at raising money for the auto worker raked in a total of over $800,000.
In an interview published last month by the Washington Post, Sabula said he had “no regrets whatsoever” about yelling at the president, even though it led to his suspension.
“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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'Groundbreaking': Michigan Sues Big Oil 'Cartel' for Conspiracy to Block Renewable Energy
The case accuses "four of the largest energy companies in the world" of conspiring "to forestall meaningful competition from renewable energy and maintain their dominance in the energy market."
Jan 23, 2026
While several US states and municipalities have sued fossil fuel companies by citing consumer protection and public nuisance laws, Michigan on Friday launched an antitrust lawsuit against four industry giants and their trade association, accusing them of operating as a "cartel" to impede a transition to clean power and transportation.
Twenty months after state Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she was seeking proposals from lawyers and firms "to pursue litigation related to the climate change impacts caused by the fossil fuel industry," the Democrat sued BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute (API) in the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
"Michigan is facing an energy affordability crisis as our home energy costs skyrocket, and consumers are left without affordable options for transportation. Whether you own a home, a small business, or run a large corporation, rising energy and transportation costs harm everyone," Nessel said in a statement.
"These out-of-control costs are not the result of natural economic inflation, but due to the greed of these corporations who prioritized their own profit and marketplace dominance over competition and consumer savings," she continued.
As the complaint says: "Defendants are four of the largest energy companies in the world and their industry's largest trade association. The fossil fuel defendants produce fossil fuels and have at times invested in clean energy products and related technologies, such as solar power and batteries, that could provide energy to power buildings, infrastructure, and cars as an alternative to fossil fuels."
"But for decades, defendants have conspired with each other to forestall meaningful competition from renewable energy and maintain their dominance in the energy market," the filing continues. "They have done so as a cartel, agreeing to reduce the production and distribution of electricity from renewable sources and to restrain the emergence of electric vehicles (EV) and renewable primary energy technologies in the United States."
"To achieve this end," the document details, "they have abandoned renewable energy projects, used patent litigation to hinder rivals, suppressed information concerning the hidden costs of fossil fuels and viability of alternatives, infiltrated and knowingly misdirected information-producing institutions, surveilled and intimidated watchdogs and public officials, and used trade associations to coordinate market-wide efforts to divert capital expenditures away from renewable energy—all to further one of the most successful antitrust conspiracies in United States history."
Lumping in this case with others previously filed against fossil fuel companies and API, Ryan Meyers, senior vice president and general counsel for the trade group, said in a statement to the Detroit News that "these baseless lawsuits are a coordinated campaign against an industry that powers everyday life, drives America's economy, and is actively reducing emissions."
While Shell declined to comment to Reuters, and BP and Exxon did not respond, a lawyer for Chevron, Theodore Boutrous Jr., similarly called the suit "baseless as demonstrated by multiple related court dismissals," and told the news agency that it "ignores the fact that Michigan is highly dependent on oil and gas to support the state's automakers and workers."
According to Nessel's complaint: "In the world that would have existed but for defendants' conspiracy, EVs would not be a fringe technology or a luxury alternative. They would be a common sight in every neighborhood—rolling off assembly lines in Flint, parked in driveways in Dearborn, charging outside grocery stores in Grand Rapids, and running quietly down Woodward Avenue."
"Reliable and fast chargers would be integrated into new development and ubiquitous at highway rest stops and converted gas stations," it states. "A family needing a car would have dozens of affordable electric options, and the renewable energy needed to power EVs efficiently would be supplied at scale—integrated into the grid or delivered through a dedicated 100% renewable network—spurred by public and private investment responding to competitive market signals."
"Michiganders would also have additional, renewable energy options for providing primary energy to their homes and businesses, such as solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal; these options would improve reliability, reduce costs to Michiganders, and reduce reliance on natural gas, fuel oil, and propane," the document adds.
Tim Minotas, legislative and political director for Sierra Club Michigan, welcomed the filing. He said in a statement that "at a time when the federal government is rolling back critical environmental protections and families are facing an energy affordability crisis, we commend Attorney General Nessel for standing up for Michiganders and holding major fossil fuel companies accountable."
"In Michigan, these companies have used their outsized political influence to preserve the status quo and pave the way for a wave of energy-intensive data center projects across the state, even as renewable energy remains the cheapest source of new power and what Michiganders deserve," he noted. "For far too long, fossil fuel and utility companies have polluted Michigan's air, water, and land while driving up energy costs for families. This action sends a clear message: Michigan families and communities must come before corporate profits."
Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, also celebrated the development: "Michigan's groundbreaking case reveals how the Big Oil cartel conspired to deny Americans cleaner and cheaper energy choices and make life less affordable by keeping consumers hooked on their dirty fossil fuel products. Eleven states and dozens of municipalities are now fighting to put Big Oil companies on trial for their climate lies and make them pay for the harm they've caused."
"Big Oil is desperate to keep the evidence of their climate lies from juries in cases like Michigan's, and that's why the fossil fuel industry is now lobbying Congress for a get-out-of-jail-free card," Wiles added, pointing to a push for a so-called liability shield. "Congress must protect the right of the people of Michigan and every state to hold Big Oil accountable for the harm their climate lies have caused."
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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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