I think the burning of the church was a message (Michigan)

[canetoad]

Digging up WWII history is a recurring theme with the mob of nazis in power right now. Try this theory on for size.

Angered by the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Sanford wanted to exact revenge in a brutal but newsworthy way. Cast your minds back to the 'village' horrors of which there were many during WWII. Two stand out - the massacre at Lidice (Czech Republic) in which all the men were shot and the women and children sent to camps before the village was wiped out.

Then there was the massacre of Oradour-sur-Glane in France in which the men were again shot but the women and children were herded into the village church and it was set alight, killing almost everyone.

Lidice was in retribution for the assassintion of Reinhardt Heydrich - an SS general. Oradour was carried out for partisan activity.

Ramming a church with a truck carrying explosives is a clear message. I believe Sanford hoped to burn alive all those inside thereby making a huge statement. I also think that the nazi massacre he wished to recreate was that of Lidice and not Oradour.