The employee Ford Motorsuspended for heckling President Donald Trump— who, in turn, appears to havegiven the employee the middle finger— is getting plenty of support from his friends.
But late in the evening of Jan. 14, it appears he asked to close the donations to two GoFundMe pages. The pages were to support the suspended Ford employee, identified as T.J. Sabula, and raised $810,765 for him in total as of 7:36 p.m.
A GoFundMe spokesperson confirmed the two pages as legitimate fundraisers for Sabula. The Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, reached out to Sabula, who did not respond to inquiries for comment. The GoFundMe spokesperson said he asked the organization to communicate that he is declining interviews at this time.
In an update on one of the pages, a person who identified himself as Sabula wrote on Jan. 14 in the late evening, "We 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. We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!"
The other page had a similar message from the organizer and indicated it was also closing the donations.
More:Trump flips off 'lunatic' heckler at Ford plant in Detroit
The incident that led to Sabula being suspended happened Jan. 13 duringan afternoon visit by Trumpto Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant, where Ford assembles its F-150 pickup. Trump toured the facility ahead of aplanned speech before the Detroit Economic Club. The UAW confirmed Sabula was suspended with pay.
The tour started off well and was mostly positive, Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford told the Detroit Free Press late Jan. 13 on the sidelines of the Detroit Auto Show. In fact, a plant manager told the Free Press thatfor one employee who celebrated 32 years with the company, getting to meet the president was the experience of a lifetime for him.
But the incident that has captured attention on social media came as the president walked the floor. Someone shouted at Trump the words "pedophile protector," according to areport by TMZ. There were no local media permitted on the tour.
The comment was an apparent reference to Trump's association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the U.S. Department of Justice's slow release of the infamous Epstein files. Epstein's death in prison was ruled a suicide.
Trump is said to have responded by mouthing back a curse word before flipping the middle finger in a worker's direction, TMZ reported. TheWashington Postalso reported Trump's obscene gesture and named and quoted Sabula
Sabula, as the Free Press reported Jan. 13, remains suspended as Ford investigates the incident.
One GoFundMe pageidentifies the worker as T.J. Sabula. The page's organizer, Diandra Gourlay, says in her post that Sabula is a married father of two and a member of UAW 600. The page also features a screenshot of Trump making the gesture. On the page, Gourlay described how the worker voiced his concerns about Trump during the visit to the plant and how the president responded with his middle finger and a curse word. Gourlay, who described herself as a longtime friend of the Sabula family, said she would donate all funds raised to the family to cover expenses "during this time of uncertainty."
As of 7:36 p.m. of Jan. 14, Gourlay's page had raised $329,885 for Sabula showing about 13,400 donors.
In asecond GoFundMe page organized by Sean Williams, titled "TJ Sabula is a Patriot," Williams wrote on the page: "Please help us raise funds for patriot TJ Sabula!! TJ was suspended from his job at the Ford Automotive Company for correctly calling President Donald J Trump a Pedophile Protector!! Let's rally and support TJ and help him pay some bills (and forceDJTto release the Trump/Epstein Files) LFG!!"
As of 7:36 p.m. on Jan. 14, $480,880 had been raised on that page, from about 21,500 donations. Some of the comments under "words of support" on the page read: "Trump's reaction says all you need to know" and "An example for all the men that are failing us right now." Other supportive comments included: "Nice work" and "Way to go."
Sabula also received support from U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, who postedon Facebookon Jan. 14: "This worker is a national hero. He's right. The president is, in fact, protecting pedophiles. Don't come to my district and expect a warm welcome. Detroit will always speak truth to power. Release the Epstein files!"
The UAW initially did not provide a comment to the Free Press about the situation other than to confirm on Jan. 13 that its member had been suspended. But on Jan. 14,it issued a statement of supportfor Sabula.
President Trump visits Ford pickup truck factory during Michigan trip
Laura Dickerson, UAW Ford Department director, said in the statement: "The UAW will ensure that our member receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member. Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behavior by anyone — including the President of the United States."
Former U.S. Secretary of TransportationPete Buttigieg said on Jan. 14during the Detroit Auto Show that he also supports Sabula.
"I don't know all of the legalities or the contract with the UAW, but I know this: This is a worker who spoke his mind to the most powerful person in the country," Buttigieg said. "And he is well within his rights to do that as an American."
When the Free Press asked Bill Ford about the incident late on Jan. 13, Ford said: "Discipline is in the hands of the organization. It's unfortunate and 99% of the employees in the plant were great and I was embarrassed because we're the host. But that was six seconds out of an hour tour and the tour went great."
More:Ford Dearborn Truck plant manager describes his visit with Trump
More:Ford worker suspended after exchange with Trump during Detroit visit
Ford spokesman Dave Tovar emailed a statement to the Free Press saying the visit went well and the company is proud of how employees represented Ford.
"We've seen the clip you're referring to," Tovar said. "One of our core values is respect and we don't condone anyone saying anything inappropriate like that within our facilities. When that happens, we have a process to deal with it, but we don't get into specific personnel matters."
This story has been updated to accurately reflect donation amounts and to correct his pay status, according to the UAW.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA Today Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie atjlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter@jlareauan.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press:GoFundMe pages for Detroit Ford worker after Trump exchange
