Sound of Freedom crowdfunder arrested on child kidnapping charges

Everett Collection Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard in 'Sound of Freedom.'

Sound of Freedom became a summer sleeper hit, earning big at the box office despite a much smaller budget than competitors from big-name franchises like Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible. The success of the film, based on the true story of former U.S. government agent Tim Ballard's efforts to combat international child sex-trafficking, is due in part to fan support from a crowdfunding campaign.

But in a strange turn of events, one of the crowdfunders listed in the film's credits — a Missouri man named Fabian Marta — has been arrested by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police on felony child kidnapping charges. Marta's arrest is publicly available on the Missouri Courts' website. St. Louis police did not immediately respond to EW's request for information on the arrest.

"I believe the charges are unfounded and conflated. I am confident he will be exonerated," Marta's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, told EW.

Representatives for Sound of Freedom's distributor, Angel Studios, did not respond to EW's request for comment on Marta's arrest — though they did explain the crowdfunding process in a press release on Friday afternoon.

"Angel Studios adhered to the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations in allowing 6,678 people to invest an average of $501 each into the launch of Sound of Freedom," Angel CEO Neal Harmon said in a statement. "Just as anyone can invest in the stock market, everyone who meets the legal criteria can invest in Angel Studios projects. One of the perks of investing was the ability to be listed in the credits."

The studio's co-founder and chief content officer, Jeffrey Harmon, posted a video on social media Friday of the crowdfunder names included in Sound of Freedom's end credits. Listed alphabetically, a credit for "Fabian Marta & Family" is visible.

Although Marta's Facebook profile has mostly been wiped, alleged screenshots of since-deleted posts collected by Twitter user Jim Stewartson appear to show Marta proudly telling followers about the movie credit.

Sound of Freedom, which stars Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) as Ballard, was originally filmed in 2018. Its distribution deal with a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox was complicated by the 2019 Disney-Fox merger, and the film was delayed until Angel Studios stepped in earlier this year to buy the distribution rights.

As detailed in the film, Ballard's efforts to save children from international sex traffickers mostly involves posing as a pedophile himself in order to buy child slaves in a sting operation.

The movie has grossed upwards of $156 million since its July 4 opening.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• AMC CEO slams 'garbage' conspiracy theories about Sound of Freedom theater disruptions

• Your guide to summer movies 2023: From Spider-Verse to Mission: Impossible

• Jim Caviezel in talks to resurrect Jesus role in Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ sequel