The team behind 'Sound of Freedom' has remained silent so far on new allegations involving the real-life subject of the film, Tim Ballard. On Monday, a Vice News report detailed anonymous allegations against Ballard relating to his quiet exit in late June from the organization, which he launched in 2013. His departure came as Angel Studios was readying 'Sound of Freedom' for release over the July Fourth holiday.
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00:00 The team behind Sound of Freedom has remained silent so far on new allegations involving
00:04 the real-life subject of the film, Tim Ballard.
00:07 Actor Jim Caviezel portrays Ballard in the movie, which has grossed more than $182 million
00:12 domestically and $210 million worldwide.
00:15 Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security official, is the founder of the anti-child
00:19 trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad.
00:22 On Monday, a Vice News report detailed anonymous allegations against Ballard relating to his
00:27 quiet exit in late June from the organization, which he launched in 2013.
00:31 His departure came as Angel Studios was readying Sound of Freedom for release over the July
00:35 4th holiday.
00:36 Ballard embarked on undercover overseas missions to fight child trafficking upon starting Operation
00:41 Underground Railroad.
00:42 According to Vice, he brought women to pose as his wife on these missions and allegedly
00:46 coerced them to share a bed or shower with him under the guise that these behaviors were
00:50 needed to fool child traffickers.
00:52 Vice also reported that an Operation Underground Railroad employee who traveled with Ballard
00:56 on an overseas mission filed a sexual harassment claim against him.
01:00 Ballard has not responded directly to the allegations and did not respond to THR's request
01:04 for comment.
01:05 Sound of Freedom filmmaker Alejandro Monteverde did not respond to a request for comment Monday,
01:09 neither did Angel Studios.
01:11 An Operation Underground Railroad spokesperson made the following statement to THR, which
01:15 read in part, "Tim Ballard resigned from OUR on June 22, 2023.
01:19 He is permanently separated from OUR.
01:22 OUR is dedicated to combating sexual abuse and does not tolerate sexual harassment or
01:26 discrimination by anyone in its organization.
01:29 OUR retained an independent law firm to conduct a comprehensive investigation of all relevant
01:34 allegations, and OUR continues to assess and improve the governance of the organization
01:39 and protocols for its operations."
01:41 For more on this story and the latest updates, head to THR.com.
01:45 This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
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