Michigan Factory Worker Who Appeared To Call Trump a 'Pedophile Protector' During Visit Is Suspended by Ford

While touring a Michigan truck factory on Tuesday, President Donald Trump made headlines after responding to a heckler who got under his skin.

Now, reports surfaced that Ford Motor Co. has suspended the worker who appeared to shout "pedophile protector" at Trump as he toured the facility. The incident went viral when Trump, as video recordings show, responded by pointing at the worker and raising his middle finger. The worker was later identified as T.J. Sabula.

As reported by The Washington Post after the incident, Sabula told the outlet he was about 60 feet from Trump when he shouted, adding that he had "definitely no regrets whatsoever."

Despite saying he has no regrets, Sabula told the outlet he is concerned about the future of his job, adding that he believes he has been "targeted for political retribution" for "embarrassing Trump in front of his friends," according to the Post.

"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 outlet. "And today I think I did that."

Sabula, 40, is a line worker at Ford's Rouge Center inside the Dearborn Truck Plant, located less than 10 miles west of Detroit. He remains suspended pending an investigation.

Sabula told the Post that he identifies as politically independent and has never voted for Trump, but said he has supported other Republicans.

The incident was also confirmed by the White House.

"A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response," White House communications director Steven Cheung said after the incident.

Despite announcing the suspension, Ford declined to discuss Sabula's employment status. A spokesperson said the company held a successful event with Trump and added that Ford is proud of how employees represented the company.

"We had a great event yesterday and we're proud of how our employees represented Ford. We've seen the clip you're referring to. 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," the spokesperson said in a statement.

As noted by The Wall Street Journal, Sabula's suspension is another example of recent incidents of limits on freedom of speech in the workplace, where employers, including tech companies such as Microsoft and retailers like Office Depot, have taken action against employees who expressed political views on the job.

In another recent case mentioned by the outlet, Hilton cut ties with one property after staff declined to book rooms for federal immigration agents.