Amid 'Sound of Freedom' Media Attacks, Utah AG Doesn't Mince Words, Says 'Tim Ballard Is a Hero'

the sound of Freedom film is getting a lot of attention right now we're gonna get into the film and your relationship with Tim Ballard but I want to actually start with human trafficking because this is an issue you know very well you've been heavily involved in remediating this and working on this issue for years now but can you help people understand the size and scope of this problem sure Billy first of all thank you for letting us come on and talk about this and helping to raise awareness amongst your viewers and listeners because human trafficking is still the fastest growing criminal Enterprise globally human trafficking affects people in every country in every state in our Union and so it's pervasive and much more prominent than people might at first believe a lot of people think well maybe that could happen somewhere in a far-off country in a third or fourth world country but not in my backyard not in my hometown and here in the United States it's it's still far too prevalent and definitely in many countries around the world you know statistics and experts often say that trafficking is the second most lucrative behind only drugs in terms of criminal activity and I'm not sure that's still the case um you know having done many cases from the law enforcement side investigating human trafficking and drug trafficking Prosecuting both of those types of crimes sometimes together from the same Enterprise I'm here to tell you that trafficking May well have surpassed drugs at this point and so people just don't understand why because there's a lot of heat there's a lot of risk when you're drug trafficking their whole agencies Drug Enforcement Administration task force is everywhere focused on the fight against and the War on Drugs not so with human trafficking we're barely getting people to wake up and be aware that this is happening and thank goodness for vehicles like sound to Freedom that are facilitating that Awakening and that awareness yeah I mean it's very I think this is a real moment with sound of freedom because you know I've covered a lot of these stories over the years um particularly movies and shows and efforts to sort of get the word out documentaries some of them have been successful but it's a very hard issue I think it's one of those issues that people they don't know a lot about it they get uncomfortable they almost want to look away because it's so horrific and yet you have this story in this film that's so beautifully told that it makes you want to pay attention and understand and so this feels like a really big opportunity right now to actually be having a conversation about an issue that is going on around the world and I have to just I have to add here you mentioned obviously in the United States um people probably don't realize that this is an issue here as well when you were first coming into this in law enforcement how shocked were you to discover what was happening in America I was absolutely shocked uh appalled but also taken aback that it could happen right here in our neighborhoods in my state of Utah is a great state it's a it's a clean State it's a well-run state and it's a safe State and to find out that trafficking was occurring uh right here we we ended up in my office in 2014 handling one of the largest human trafficking cases in the history of the United States and again it was because people are very trusting people don't think about it no normal human being in my mind feels like oh yeah that's that's something that's that that's happening that's something that another human being could do to subjugate somebody else and enslave them um and force them into this you know hell of human trafficking and so absolutely I was surprised but then more and more I delved into it in terms of fighting trafficking whether it was on a policy level or whether it was on the law enforcement side it opened my eyes and I realized that there are many levels and there are lots of layers of this and what we even talk about today are only the surface layers and we don't have time to get into the darkest deepest recesses of depravity um that this touches well and and we're going to get into your relationship uh with Tim Ballard the work you've done with him you know as Attorney General of Utah these are issues that obviously are important to you and you've had a long career in law enforcement I wanna I wanna emphasize that sound of Freedom has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews the audience loves the film um I have seen the film I thought it was phenomenal uh but but there have been a couple of reviews in in large outlets and one of them in light of what we're talking about I want to highlight it I have it in front of me here it's from Rolling Stone and this particular writer basically says that the the film is being passed off as a documentary and this is a quote rather than delusion by fomenting moral Panic for years over this grossly exaggerated epidemic of child sex trafficking much of it funneling people into conspiracy rabbit holes and Q Anon communities but the part there that stands out is this grossly exaggerated epidemic of child trafficking how did you react when you saw that response wants to sound to Freedom before I answer the question directly um Billy let me go back to something that you said about this opportunity because for many years those of us in the fight at all levels across the world have been hoping for a film that would be accessible even though it's a very dark topic for the average person to connect with and understand that every one of us is a possible victim that every one of our families is potentially a victim and we had like Liam Neeson had taken a number of years back I think that started like in 2006 and that started to Maybe Just Awaken people a little bit but it wasn't kind of couched as a trafficking film this squarely addresses it and is such a great opportunity and now to answer your question my first reaction is what a shame what what a missed opportunity for somebody who has a sphere of influence to pretend that this Abomination doesn't exist and to try to discredit those who are fighting against it um I feel sorry for the author of that editorial that that article I don't know what turmoil is going on in his or her own soul but to suggest that human trafficking either doesn't exist that's an absolute fiction and it comes from a point of terrible ignorance I wish though and this is interesting he said that we were fomenting and I I may get the exact verbiage wrong moral outrage um I wish we were fomenting more moral outrage I I that's our purpose is to is to offend people into action hope that they realize that there are little children and men and women certainly too it's not exclusive to Children the majority of them are not children but the children are the most vulnerable in this and to suggest that it it doesn't exist or that the um that those of us in the fight against it are exaggerating its pervasiveness and its effect on Humanity I think is again absolute ignorance um I feel sorry for for them um but we it doesn't deter us we are so excited about the overwhelmingly positive response Tim Ballard and I can't believe we kind of have to pinch ourselves sometimes because it's been a long time in the making and even longer in the distribution and now that it's here it is fulfilling what we had hoped people are are having conversations with their own soul and saying you know what if this is true and and I'm here to tell you it absolutely is and anybody who tells you that it's not or that it's exaggerated has never been out in the trenches has never worked these cases has never put their life on the line like Tim has or the other operators around the world like prosecutors victim Advocates Survivor Care Advocates all of the people who are in the fight I think um deserve mention as well and so we take these types of criticisms as a badge of honor No Good Deeds no worthwhile Endeavors were ever met without hate and uh and criticism so that tells us we're on to something and uh the forces uh of Darkness you know they'll use many different uh vehicles to try to undermine uh the fight well and I want to emphasize here too and I want you to tell us a little bit about this because this very much is your story as well you are involved in this film you have been with Tim on rage you have planned them with him and you go back even further with him um in in government and so talk a little bit about your relationship I think it's important for people to understand this who Tim is because there are yeah there have been a number of stories right casting doubt on his tactics or going after him on on a variety of different things and I want people to understand I love what you said there you just said this is true you know Tim you've been involved in this so talk a little bit about the roots of that relationship sure Tim Ballard is a hero no other way to characterize him um he was a very respected and successful uh special agent for Homeland Security and he was effective at combating things like child pornography and child predators um when it comes to human trafficking even in the law enforcement side and certainly in government in general there wasn't a lot of awareness there weren't many resources there weren't people really focused on it and so Tim was a Pioneer in many ways and he developed a lot of skills when he had his badge and then he made an incredible leap into with a lot of faith I will say with his wife to leave the security and safety of his badge and his pension and everything that he built up in his law enforcement career he was also a great author that had a large following um you know lecturing and at colleges and universities he could have stayed in that very comfortable Zone and instead he gave that all up so that he could go out in the world and try to seek out and bring home and rescue men women and especially children so if anybody doubts either his experience or his credibility again that's coming from a point of of absolute ignorance he left our task force in the state of Utah in 2013 and our icac team internet crimes against children to go out on his own start this NGO called operation Underground Railroad and he had an ambition and a dream to take the skill set that he built up as a federal agent and go out and become essentially a confidential informant for other nations and do the heavy lifting for them and and take the risks uh on his own and with that uh when I'm when I connected with him on on our you know mutual passion for fighting this evil Institution we were very few in number um our efforts were just starting and the very first large operation that we went on um that he invited me to attend because I I do for the state of Utah and for other jurisdictions we work with combating trafficking domestically but his Focus was overseas and we went to Columbia effectuated a highly successful operation we didn't tell anybody that wasn't our purpose to try to promote it we were trying to help the the nation of Colombia and law enforcement and lo and behold the media caught hold of the story and interestingly it was the the the the media generally some of these same folks I imagine who are now critics who broke the story and it was a very compelling story and and back then in 2014 they were all on our side and they were all promoting this and this was amazing it wasn't sensationalized it was true life story where now again it's like well it's a conspiracy I don't know what's happened in those 10 years or so in between to change these hearts and Harden the hearts of of these people but back then we were Awakening the world through these operations rescuing young ones giving them their lives and their innocence back um trying to put resources towards their recovery even more than the rescue and it was the media who was blowing this up around the world um we didn't think there would be a movie about it and so I yes I've been with Tim from the beginning there are many others who are operators and support for Tim but he is the voice of this movement it's his story and of course is the messenger he's gonna receive the Lion's Share of criticism from those who who are are trying to hate um but in terms of the operations themselves I'm happy to debate anybody anywhere anytime in terms of the techniques that are used I've seen them participated in them to be clear we work under the auspices of the host Nations many times they invite us in they want our help they want people to pose as Americans because they know that's far more effective than having someone from their own country why because it's usually Americans or Europeans or others that look like us that are coming down to the country to exploit men women and children so we work under their laws we follow their constitution if they have one we coordinate with their law enforcement teams we help put together their cases and have even testified in their cases to help put Predators away and while we're looking for trafficking we may be helping them put together other aspects of their case drug smuggling money laundering in fact in certain instances we like that they can bring other types of charges against the perpetrators so we don't have to necessarily prosecute a trafficking case why because Prosecuting trafficking means putting our victims our survivors back on the stand making them re-traumatized essentially putting them back through their horror so often we will try to help these other nations put together a concurrent case but the the effect is the same these trafficking networks are taken down and they start to realize now there's risk where risk didn't exist before cartels organized crime saying well this is getting to be more like drugs again they're they're actually people looking for us they're actually people um putting resources towards fighting this and that was our Hope from the beginning and the movie depicts it very accurately I think the movie shows how painstaking we are in terms of preparation safety working with um law enforcement in the other countries so all of those things come into play Billy probably longer answer than uh no it's it's it's incredibly helpful and fascinating and you answered a couple of other questions that I was very curious about you know when it comes to the tactics and and how things are done and you have been there you have seen it um and you know this is this is for you it's been a mission to rescue and help others as well and you know I so admire that I I have to ask you as a final question in this and you and I could talk for hours because there's so much to unpack we'll probably have you back again but but how as a human being has it affected you not just the rescues and the happy moments of being able to actually get kids and and others out of this but how do you cope with the more difficult parts of this the things that you have to see and experience and go through in order to get there to that rescue what is that like as a human as a person of faith absolutely prayer my relationship with God be an understanding of the deepest value of human life especially a child's innocence my family when there's this Duality and Tim and I talk about it a lot when you have to go down into the depths of Darkness to do these types of cases you absolutely need to surround yourself with a lot of light that light is a lot of internal light from our own faith and understanding that God we believe will help us find these children and bring them back and then external light being around family and uh trying to fill our lives with with a lot of light now I've got to say from communities around the country we feel that light we feel their prayers we feel their faith um and and so as an associate producer of the film I've got to thank every single person who's come and supported it there's no way we're defying All Odds it's not by happenstance we're slaying the goliaths um the same uh companies that tried to keep this from getting distributed were outperforming them we're touching the hearts souls and minds of Americans and friends across the globe there's a reason because we feel there is a light that emanates and I want to just give credit again to some amazing Partners like Angel Studios that brought us the Chosen and Alejandro Monte Verde verastigai brilliant storytellers that came to us and said let us tell the story of course Jim Caviezel in one of the best actors if not in in my book you know the best of our generation at least among one of the the top uh talents in Hollywood Tim Ballard amazing man of Faith who truly has put it all out on the line he doesn't do the operations anymore so some of us who are still active you won't see us in the film but when it comes time to hang up uh our operational uh hats you might see us for sound of Freedom too or sound of Freedom three we want this to be a franchise to go forward so that we can keep ringing that Bell of Liberty and awareness so thank you to uh you Billy and to CBN for giving us this opportunity well I appreciate you taking the time and I'm looking forward to having you back again sometime soon

Channel: CBN News

Views: 1,126,106

Keywords: cbn, cbn news, christian news, christian tv, christian stories, faith, faith news, faith stories, inspirational stories, news today, today's headlines, quick news, quickstart podcast, us news, international news, Billy Hallowell, Faithwire, Faithwire.com, Faithwire news, sean reyes, utah attorney general, sound of freedom, operation underground railroad, sound of freedom movie, jim caviezel, sex trafficking, child trafficking, tim ballard, angel studios, christian movies

Id: TLbm1LjQWOw

Length: 18min 51sec (1131 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 12 2023