True the Vote partners with Detroit pastor for new election conspiracy documentary 'Trap'
Lorenzo Sewell and True the Vote collaborate on 'Trap', a film repeating discredited claims that experts warn is designed to undermine public confidence in electoral outcomes.
True the Vote, the organisation best known for the widely debunked 2020 election fraud film 2000 Mules, is collaborating with Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell to produce a new documentary titled Trap. The film alleges systemic election fraud within Black communities, echoing claims from a 2024 lawsuit filed by Detroit activist Ramon Jackson that have been dismissed by courts for lack of standing and insufficient evidence.
Sewell, who spoke at Donald Trump’s inauguration, claims to possess a “proven system” for detecting electoral cheating but has provided no verifiable evidence to substantiate these assertions. He told WIRED the documentary, which he has not yet seen, is called Trap “because people are trapped” and is expected to be released within the next month.
The documentary repeats allegations from a lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, who allegedly orchestrated a scheme to register former residents and cast votes under false registrations dating back to 2017. The court case was dismissed, yet Sewell continues to push these claims, asserting that Democrats are voting for poor Black people without their knowledge.
Sewell provided WIRED with images of ballot envelopes and 10 affidavits from voters claiming their address or identity was falsely used. However, WIRED was unable to independently verify these claims. Sewell also claimed that Black people do not vote absentee, a statement contradicted by a study published this week indicating that voting by mail is more common among Black voters in communities with high hate-crime rates.
True the Vote co-founder Gregg Phillips has referenced the documentary on Truth Social, stating it “Makes mules look like childs [sic] play.” He posted a picture with co-founder Catherine Engelbrecht and Tina Peters, a pardoned former Mesa County Clerk known in election denial circles. Engelbrecht previously wrote in a newsletter about filming a documentary in Detroit but provided no further details.
Election experts warn the film is designed to undermine public confidence in election outcomes. David Becker, head of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, noted that True the Vote’s previous documentary was found to be completely false and that these claims are clearly designed to cause doubt in elections the filmmakers dislike.
The Department of Justice recently sent a letter to state election officials warning them they could be prosecuted for noncitizen voting, a point Phillips highlighted in connection with the new documentary. 2000 Mules was pulled from distribution in 2024 after Salem Media Group settled a lawsuit with a Georgia man wrongly identified in the film.
