‘Sound of Freedom’ is real, not QAnon fantasy says anti-trafficking hero who inspired hit
When “Sound of Freedom” — an indie movie based on the heroic true story of a federal agent turned international pedophile hunter — debuted in theaters July 4, it beat the big-budget likes of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
But the cinematic underdog hasn’t been hailed as a triumph in all corners. Instead, liberal media outlets have pilloried it as a QAnon dog whistle.
It’s a far cry from 2014 — three years before QAnon was even a thing — and CBS News’ straight coverage of the real-life raid in Colombia that rescued over 50 children and inspired the movie.
The sting operation was led by Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security special agent from California.
Having worked undercover on child trafficking cases for more than a decade, he quit his law enforcement job in 2013 to hunt down pedophiles abroad and free the children they enslaved.
The story not only raised awareness about the mushrooming issue of child sex-trafficking and exploitation, but it turned Ballard and his nonprofit, Operation Underground Railroad, into the object of media interest.
He was profiled in Forbes with the headline “Meet a guy who has devoted his life to freeing slaves” and appeared on a series of networks.
“When we did our first hits in 2014, 2015, it was all the mainstream outlets,” Ballard told The Post. “Equally Fox News, equally MSNBC. I went on CNN.”
All that attention also caught the eye of Mexican actor and producer Eduardo Verastegui, who wanted to turn Ballard’s tale of heroics into a movie.
Released July 4, “Sound of Freedom” is a faith-based thriller, starring Jim Caveziel as Ballard, that portrays his conversion from government agent to renegade of sorts, fighting the global sex trade.
“They do make me look way more bad-ass in the movie than I am or ever was. But it’s based in truth,” Ballard said. “The kids are real, what happened to them is real. All the bad guys and the good guys are real.”
According to Box Office Mojo, “Sound of Freedom” earned more than $14 million on its holiday opening — nearly $3 million more than “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” despite being in nearly 2,000 fewer theaters. In just over a week, it’s made more than $45 million.
Variety critic Owen Gleiberman wrote that “Sound of Freedom” is “a compelling movie that shines an authentic light on one of the crucial criminal horrors of our time, one that Hollywood has mostly shied away from.”
But the Alejandro Monteverde-directed project also emerged as a controversial film, with some media outlets claiming it’s fueled by QAnon, the fringe conspiracy group that believes there’s a cabal of child-molesting elites trafficking children.
The Guardian called the movie “the QAnon adjacent thriller,” while Jezebel dubbed it an “anti-trafficking fantasy fit for QAnon.” Rolling Stone’s take: a “superhero movie for dads with brainworms.”
Journalist Mike Rothschild said on CNN: “These [kinds of] films are created out of moral panics … [‘Sound of Freedom’] specifically is looking at QAnon concepts of these child trafficking rings.”
Ballard told The Post he is shocked by the blowback.
“‘Sound of Freedom’ at its core, is a message about protecting children from child-trafficking cartels,” he said.
Initially made for 20th Century Fox, the film ended up being cut loose by Disney after its acquisition of the studio, and was later picked up by the independent Angel Studios, out of Provo, Utah.
“This movie wasn’t designed to be political,” he said adding that it had nothing to do with QAnon. Completed in 2018, it was a virtual marathon to get the movie to the big screens.
“Too much has changed [in our society] since then,” Ballard said. “As I assess it, I’ve never seen a time when the country has been more divided and somehow the safety and protection of kids is in the balance.”
In a podcast with Turning Point USA founder, Charlie Kirk, star Cavaziel has said he was unaware of QAnon conspiracy theories while making the movie, though he has reportedly spoken at QAnon events since and has trafficked in some bizarre language associated with the fringe group.
As for Ballard, his group has distanced itself from such “conspiracy groups.”
Outlets like Jezebel pointed to a 2020 tweet where Ballard addressed a QAnon conspiracy theory saying furniture retailer, Wayfair sold kids, writing “With or without Wayfair, child trafficking is real and happening!!!”
Maybe the star is a bit crackers in real life (they don’t call it Hollyweird for nothing), but the movie should hardly be dismissed as conspiracy porn.
In fact, if it was released closer to its production, which was a less politically divisive era, Ballard said, it “would be applauded and written up by every news outlet as an important topic.”
He blamed the porous US-Mexico border as a main driver of child-sex trafficking.
“I spent 10 out of 12 years on the Southern border and to know what’s happening, you have to understand the economy of pedophilia,” he said. “The US is the number-one consumer of chlidhood rape videos in the world. We are now in the top one or two for production. It used to be more foreign based.”
But Ballard notes that law enforcement is unable to speak out about the atrocities.
“They are not happy, but they can’t say a word. They can’t be loud, so we have to be loud for them,” said the married father of nine, who adopted two children he rescued from Haiti in Februry of 2014.
Ballard notes the success of “Sound of Freedom” shows a silent majority is rising up and listening.
“Hopefully we will start enforcing the border. It’s the only compassionate thing to do if you care about children.”
As for Verastegui, who also stars in the movie, he’s grateful for any noise on his “underdog movie.”
“I don’t understand [the criticism], but thank God,” the producer said. “They are doing us a favor, the more they attack the movie, people show up. ‘Sound of Freedom’ is saving lives.”
