Sound of Freedom Crowdfunder Cleared of Child Kidnapping Accessory Charges [Updated]
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The post Sound of Freedom Crowdfunder Cleared of Child Kidnapping Accessory Charges [Updated] appeared first on Consequence.
Child kidnapping accessory charges have been dropped against Fabian Marta, one of the thousands of individuals who crowdfunded the controversial anti-child trafficking movie Sound of Freedom.
As initially reported in Newsweek, Marta was arrested by St. Louis Metropolitan Police in late July and charged by the Missouri Circuit Court as an accessory to child kidnapping. Per USA Today, the court released a memo on September 25th saying that a grand jury determined there was insufficient evidence to obtain a conviction.
Missouri Circuit Court public information officer Christine Bertelson further clarified to the newspaper that “there was no kidnapping.” Instead, the case was actually the result of “a misunderstanding” between relatives of the children.
Following Marta’s arrest, his attorney, Scott Rosenblum, told St. Louis’ KMOV4 that the charges were “unfounded” because his client was merely offering living space to another suspect in the case in exchange for rehabbing some of Marta’s other properties.
Sound of Freedom as a whole has been accused of right-wing propagandizing. The film stars Jim Caviezel — who played Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ and is an outspoken supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory — and is loosely based on Tim Ballard, a former CIA special agent who founded the anti-trafficking nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad. The nonprofit has been criticized by outlets like Vice News and Slate, who have both revealed its questionable practices and worrying connections to QAnon.
Anne Gallagher, who the US Department of State named as “the leading global expert on the international law on human trafficking,” described the work of Operation Underground Railroad “arrogant, unethical and illegal.”
Indeed, one of the film’s executive producers, Paul Hutchinson, has admitted to touching the breasts of a possibly underage trafficking victim while working with Operation Underground Railroad in 2016.
Similarly, even the creative team behind Sound of Freedom itself appears to be guilty of some misleading business practices. A media narrative has arisen that the film has done well beyond expectations at the box office, and while this may be financially true, it doesn’t quite capture the full picture, since the film’s distributor, Angel Studios, encouraged fans to buy “extra tickets” through a “Pay It Forward” scheme. In reality, many folks reported that sold-out screenings of the film had empty seats, as a quantity of the tickets purchased went unused.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with the news that the charges against Fabian Marta have been dropped. Unsubstantiated allegations about Marta from self-proclaimed anti-disinformation activist Jim Stewartson have also been removed.
Sound of Freedom Crowdfunder Cleared of Child Kidnapping Accessory Charges [Updated]
Jo Vito and Eddie Fu
Popular Posts
AC/DC Rock Power Trip Festival for First Show in Seven Years: Photos + Video
Masters of the Air, Band of Brothers Sequel Series, to Premiere in January 2024
Sharon Osbourne Says She and Ozzy Still Have an Assisted-Suicide Pact
Foo Fighters Perform "Best of You" with Shania Twain at Austin City Limits: Watch
