Here’s who’s behind the next Capitol insurrection

While some white evangelical leaders have responded to results of this week’s midterm elections with dismay, others are responding with calls to action that echo the insurrection of January 6, 2021.

By and large, these white evangelicals cannot believe the rest of the nation rejects their love for Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda. What is for some a call to pray, to others is a call to join their Crusade.

“On January 3rd, 2027, Christian Crusaders will descend upon the US Capitol in Washington DC to PROTEST the Certification of the RIGGED Midterms!!!!” Jake Lang declared on X, urging 1 million Christian Crusaders to bring their crosses and “STAND LIKE MEN.”

Earlier this week, Lang announced the new insurrection on X with a photo of Trump supporters atop the U.S. Capitol from January 6. Lang called the next insurrection “Round 2,” and claimed, “We are taking this COUNTRY BACK!!!!!!!!!”

According to these Crusaders, the U.S. is being taken over by Muslims and immigrants. As Lang puts it, “White people in America, you will be replaced, and your children will be Black Muslims if you don’t stand up now.”

The Crusaders are convinced this week’s elections — nationwide — were stolen. On Daystar Television’s FlashPoint this week, host Gene Bailey compared Republicans losing their seats of power to Democrats to David’s warriors losing their women and children in 1 Samuel 30 to the Amalekites. Just as David’s warriors started to question David, Bailey’s concern is that Republicans might start questioning President Donald Trump. And just as David’s warriors attacked the Amalekites to take back what was stolen from them, Bailey said Republicans need to “seek God’s direction and then we’ve got to act.”

Lang’s answer is to call the faithful to the nation’s capital again. He posted an AI generated ad that features Medieval Crusaders standing with American flags and large wooden crosses before the U.S. Capitol as a storm looms overhead. “Peaceful protest & Christian unity,” the ad says, despite the violent imagery of Crusaders and the rhetoric and past actions of its organizers.

And then it urges those who want to participate, “Bring Your Cross.”

Most Americans never have heard the names of speakers listed on the ad. So who are these Christian Crusaders? Are they promoting a Christianity of peace or of power? And what sort of following do they have?

Jake Lang

Lang knows something about insurrections. He was present on January 6, 2021. According to Lawfare, Lang “was allegedly among the first rioters to enter the tunnel at 2:41 p.m.; was with them when they broke windows and yelled that police officers were ‘enemies of the state.’ He and another rioter allegedly ‘violently pushed a door against an officer’s head’ while Lang ‘kicked at that officer.’ He then briefly left the archway, filmed a selfie video saying, ‘We are the real men.’”

Based on video footage from nearly two and a half hours of fighting Capitol police, Lang’s actions allegedly led to a police officer being “violently crushed against the first set of doors.” He allegedly “repeatedly kicked” a fallen officer. The government said he attacked another officer with a riot shield, riled up a group of men to throw “poles, plastic cones, desk drawers and sticks” at the officers, and beat officers with a metal bat using “low swings, overhead swings and thrusts.”

During an interview on Instagram the next day, Lang said, “’This was no mob. … This was an organized unit of patriots trying to take on tyrants. … This was patriots … on a mission to have the Capitol building. To stop the election from being stolen so that we at least have one presidential veto left from all these bullshit laws and restrictions.”

“He faced an 11-count indictment but was pardoned by Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.”

He faced an 11-count indictment but was pardoned by Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.

Recently, he told the Dearborn, Mich. City Council on August 18: “We will not allow these third world mongrels to run roughshod over us without a fight. … Join the Crusades and extricate this filth from our country. We will have our way! Come blood or sweat. We will have our way! This is a Christian land! Christ is King! Christ is King!”

Pastor David Manning

As pastor of ATLAH World Missionary Church in Harlem, N.Y., Manning long has been known for his opposition to Muslims. In August, he went on the “Pass the Salt” podcast for an episode about “taking back” New York City from Muslims.

According to Manning, Islam is a “phony false blasphemous religion” that “allows for its adherents to lie and to be dishonest.” He accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of being a “hardcore jihadist” who supports Hamas and who believes in “the theory that Islam will cover the world, and that we will all be converted,” and that “any infidel who does not join Islam is worthy of death.”

Mamdani has not said any of those things.  And Manning conveniently fails to mention the various Christian theologies that say essentially the same thing.

Manning invited Lang to speak at his church in September, during which Lang ripped up a Quran and used the n word in front of the Black congregation while holding a cross with no repercussions.

Pastor Lorenzo Sewell

Sewell is the pastor of 180 Church in Detroit. He’s been rising in popularity among Republicans since praying at Trump’s second inauguration, appearing at Sean Feucht worship warfare events, and taking the stage at the Trump administration’s “Rededicate 250” event on the National Mall this summer.

In addition to inviting Lang to speak to his congregation, Sewell has appeared alongside Lang at previous Crusader events, including at the Dearborn City Council meeting where Sewell yelled: “We are not a nation of Muslims! We are a nation of Christians! We are one nation, under God, indivisible, the God of the Bible! The God of the Lord Jesus Christ! That’s the God in whom we serve!” He added, “America! We have lost this city! This is a city that is no longer up under American laws. We are up under Sharia law.”

During his appearance on Daystar Television’s Flashpoint, Sewell said, “We need another January 6. I’m telling you I’m gearing up for it. I’m ready to go to the Capitol. … I’ve already talked to a few of my friends and we’re ready to go. … We have to pursue, overtake, and we need to reclaim all that the devil has come to steal, kill and destroy.”

He went on to share conspiracy theories based on not knowing what happens to absentee ballot envelopes during transit and concluded, “There are numbers, specifically in cities that are majority Black that have a high transient group of people and that also have immigrants. These are the cities where they are cheating.”

Pastor Dale Partridge

As the pastor of King’s Way Reformed Church in Prescott, Ariz., Dale Partridge is no stranger to controversy. He believes Black people are cursed by God to “a civilizational station of subordination and dependence.” He desires repeal of the 19th amendment because, “Nearly every legalized moral atrocity of the last 100 years was made possible by the female vote.” And he says he won’t allow his daughter to marry a Black man because doing so would lead to lower IQs for their children and because “our Christian forefathers treated interracial marriage as illegal.”

Partridge also supports Nazi-friendly conservative influencers such as Nick Fuentes. On Friday, he posted on X: “I believe in 6-10 years, @NickJFuentes and/or @jamesfishback will be hold a position in the White House. May the Lord bless and protect them.”

Partridge is someone to keep an eye on. But despite his obviously racist, sexist and antisemitic views, and his name being on Lang’s announcement, he denies being involved with Lang’s insurrection. He posted on X, “I’m not speaking at this event. Never said I was. Please remove my name.”

Evangelist Joel Tenney

Describing himself as Iowa’s “MAGA pastor,” evangelist Joel Tenney has appeared alongside both Trump and Lang.

Tenney was wearing camouflage in the back of the pickup truck with Lang when they drove onto the sidewalk in Minneapolis while holding a giant cross and a sign that said, “Jake Lang loves Black people, but hates (n word).” After violence broke out, including a confrontation with a counter-protestor dressed as Spiderman, Tenney posted on Instagram: “Bear mace hits different. At least I took down gay Spiderman when he started throwing hands at Jake, busted my nose throwing him to the concrete tho.”

According to Tenney, Trump is “God’s anointed man,” “This election is part of a spiritual battle,” and “There are demonic forces at play. But judgment is coming.”

He says Lang is “doing what white Christian American heritage men need to be doing, and that’s rising up and standing up for their country.” And while denying he’s a racist, he attempts to clarify, “I’m a white preservationist, a white continuationist, and I love white pride.”

Tenney also has a record. In 2018, he was found guilty of fifth degree criminal sexual conduct due to following a woman into a restroom and masturbating. According to court documents, “Defendant Tenny forced plaintiff to perform oral sex on him.”

Crusader White Rabbit

White Rabbit and White Rabbit 6 are aliases used by a Crusader named Eric Murgo. Like the others on Lang’s list, White Rabbit is known for anti-Muslim rhetoric. He promoted Lang’s Christian Crusade in Dearborn on social media.

Earlier today, he posted an angry rant on Facebook, yelling, “We lost the midterms because of the Iran War and gas prices? Fucking bullshit! Those motherfuckers cheated! And we’re seeing it, proof of it every fucking day!” He declared, “We’re gonna be there this fucking January! Jake Lang, White Rabbit, the rest of the Crusaders! Oh we’re gonna be there!”

Then referencing the flyer, he added, “We are not gonna allow the steal to happen a second time! Cause now they’re planning on attacking everybody that is not a communist or an Islamist! We the people are gonna make a stand! We are not gonna be cheated out of our elections and stand there and watch it happen for a second time! Stand up America! This is your right! Stand for freedom! Stand for justice! Stand for the American way! And stop these radicals from destroying our country!”

Crusader Tori Branum

As a former U.S. Marine and 2026 candidate for Georgia’s 12th Congressional District, Branum created the “Armed and Unveiled” brand for “equipping women and their men with conviction, tactical readiness and community to courageously defend their freedoms, families, and future from the threat of political Islam.”

She uses language such as answering “the call to tactical grace.”

According to her website, the Christian war against Islam is crucial because “if we do not awaken now, we may awaken too late — and find that we have allowed love itself to disappear from the face of the earth.”

But lest anyone accuse her of spreading Islamophobia, she says, “There is a very just reason to be afraid” because Muslims are taught “a mind controlling way of life” that starts with “public displays of prayer” and ends with genocide.

From social media to the White House

Of course, there’s a decent chance their “Million Crusader Cross March” on the U.S. Capitol scheduled for January 3 won’t live up to the hype. After all, we’ve seen this before. In October 2024, Trump supporters organized the “A Million Women” march at the U.S. Capitol. But while a million women didn’t show up, they still had more than 250,000 in attendance with 10 million watching online as they beat a stone altar to the goddess Ishtar with mallets and hammers while singing, blowing shofars and screaming in tongues for the Republicans to take back the U.S. Capitol for Jesus.

And that’s part of the concern. While most people probably never have heard of the names on Lang’s ad, these Crusaders do have a very large list of social media followers:

• Jake Lang — 249,900 on X; 369,000 on Instagram; 321,000 on Facebook
• David Manning —15,00 on X; 365,000 on Instagram; 597,000 on Facebook
• Lorenzo Sewell — 225,000 on Instagram; 81,000 on Facebook
• Dale Partridge — 157,600 on X; 242,000 on Instagram; 466,000 on Facebook
• Joel Tenney — 162,000 on Instagram; 106,000 on Facebook
• White Rabbit — 146,000 on Instagram; 156,000 on Facebook
• Tori Branum — 153,000 on Instagram; 551,000 on Facebook

But what’s more concerning than the Crusaders or their potential crowds is who we’re counting on to stand up to them.

Trump doesn’t seem to care, given the fact that he’s done everything he can to fuel their conspiratorial fears. He’s also facing the threat of investigations and impeachment, should the election be certified. And since Tuesday’s election, Trump decided to elevate Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff.

Miller is the one who raged at Charlie Kirk’s funeral about those who oppose the Trump administration: “You have nothing, you are nothing, you are wickedness, you are jealousy, you are envy, you are hatred.” Speaking about his new role, Miller said, “The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our president and defend this magnificent republic.”

But on the chance things do get out of hand on January 3 as they have at every other Jake Lang-organized crusade, surely the U.S. military could step in, right?

Unfortunately, they’re led by Pete Hegseth, author of American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free and bearer of Christian Crusader tattoos the Democrats in Congress didn’t think were worth asking about during his confirmation hearings.

In American Crusade, Hegseth identifies “Islamism” as “the most important ‘ism’” and names Iran as the enemy in an American holy war. Since gaining power, he’s used his position at the Pentagon to promote worship services that sacralize his mission. He’s currently leading the “Send Me” tour, in which he uses Isaiah 6:8 to recruit soldiers for his holy war against Islam.

And in perhaps the most chilling passage of American Crusade, Hegseth calls for the “utter annihilation” of the left and says, “Our American Crusade is not about literal swords, and our fight is not with guns. Yet.”

 

Rick Pidcock is a 2004 graduate of Bob Jones University, with a bachelor of arts degree in Bible. He’s a freelance writer based in South Carolina and a former Clemons Fellow with BNG. He completed a master of arts degree in worship from Northern Seminary. He is a stay-at-home father of five children and is the author of a forthcoming book, Weapons of Worship: How the Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism. Follow his blog at www.rickpidcock.com.

 

Related:

Christian Crusaders want another January 6 | Analysis by Rick Pidcock

Christian Crusaders create chaos in Minneapolis

In Dearborn, the latest evidence of the new Crusades | Analysis by Rick Pidcock

Sean Feucht thinks Jesus loves his invasion of a Muslim procession | Analysis by Rick Pidcock