Detroit pastor invokes 'Bloody Sunday' on Jan. 6 anniversary at US Capitol

Grant Schwab, The Detroit News on Jan 6, 2026

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WASHINGTON — A conservative pastor from Detroit gathered a group of his congregants at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to protest alleged election fraud and commemorate the fifth anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Lorenzo Sewell, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump who led a prayer at his 2025 inauguration, likened the Jan. 6 riot to violence at the "Bloody Sunday" marches in Selma on March 7, 1965. Images and video of state troopers beating peaceful protesters turned that day into a flashpoint of the Civil Rights movement.

"January 6 is the equivalent to the Bloody Sunday of this day. Remember, on Bloody Sunday, Martin Luther King was able to show the entire world that racism was evil. And five years ago, on this day, we saw the evil of election fraud," said Sewell, 44, in an interview.

Sewell and about 40 members of his congregation from Detroit's 180 Church prayed inside the U.S. Capitol dome and urged continued investigations into election fraud across the country, including the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost and other contests since then.

There has been no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in Michigan. A 2021 report from the Michigan State Senate, at the time controlled by Republicans, found "no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud" and suggested that Attorney General Dana Nessel consider investigating individuals who pushed false claims "to raise money or publicity for their own ends."

That has not stopped activists from raising doubts and conspiracy theories over election security.

Those doubts turned violent during the Jan. 6 riot five years ago, when pro-Trump protesters breached police lines and entered the U.S. Capitol. Police killed one protester as she tried to climb through a shattered window inside the building. One police officer died in the immediate aftermath of the attack, and four others later died by suicide.

Trump has issued pardons for more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the Capitol riot and has celebrated demonstrators that day for supporting his erroneous claims that the 2020 election was "stolen."

“January 6th is a dark day in American history, and this treasonous act was intended to undermine our democracy and override free and fair elections here in Michigan and across the country," Michigan Democratic Party chairman Curtis Hertel Jr. said Tuesday in a statement. "Five years later, it is abhorrent that Michigan Republicans are still pushing the same dangerous lies and conspiracy theories that caused this insurrection."

A U.S. House select committee dedicated to investigating the Jan. 6 riot recommended in 2022 that the Department of Justice bring charges against Trump for inciting violence. A grand jury later indicted Trump on four counts, but Special Prosecutor Jack Smith filed to have the charges dropped after the Republican leader won the 2024 presidential election.

Sewell did not comment on those deaths or pardons but instead focused on ongoing claims over election fraud.

"President Trump had a spiritual suspicion," the pastor said. "He had a Holy Ghost hunch that the elections were stolen. And guess what we've come to do: Tell the world that the President was right, that we have the proof, that we have the people, and that now we need to prosecute criminally."

Sewell brought to the Capitol a list, printed on 180 Church letterhead, of five lawsuits alleging fraud across several elections, most recently the Detroit mayoral primary. The pastor said he did not plan to meet with administration officials or Trump during the visit to Washington. The two first met in June 2024, when Trump made a campaign stop at the church.

The pastor in 2025 weighed a run for U.S. Senate but ultimately decided against entering the race.

"Why would I run for Senate when I know there's cheating? That's like gambling, got a table when you know the decks is rigged. Why would you run a race when you know the guy you're running against is taking steroids?" he said, alleging that election fraud perpetrated by Democrats occurs in Michigan.

He added that any amount of fraud corrupts elections, comparing the practice to deadly drugs.

"If there's just a little poison, not a lot, just a little poison, is it still poisonous? Well, it's still poisonous," he said, making a pinching motion with his fingers. "Just a little fentanyl can kill you."

After Sewell led a prayer in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the 180 Church congregants took part in a private tour facilitated by Republican Indiana U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman's office.

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