A co-creator of the Sound of Freedom movie recently responded to reports that one of the anti-child trafficking movie's funders was arrested in the kidnapping of a child.
On Friday morning, Newsweek reported that Fabian Marta was arrested by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and charged with accessory to child kidnapping, according to a Missouri court filing. A department spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that Marta was charged on July 23.
Jeffrey Harmon, co-founder of Angel Studios, which created the Sound of Freedom movie, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "He is one of 6600+ crowd investors. Seriously, who sorted through 6600 names of random people who put a few hundred dollars into P&A funding and cross checked it with local judicial databases? That's a lot of work for a nothingburger."
He is one of 6600+ crowd investors. Seriously, who sorted through 6600 names of random people who put a few hundred dollars into P&A funding and cross checked it with local judicial databases? That’s a lot of work for a nothingburger. https://t.co/8pKB908eft
— Jeffrey Harmon (@JeffreyHarmon) August 4, 2023
Since-removed Facebook posts appear to show Marta revealing their pride in funding the film. Marta's name appears in the movie's credits among the "investors [who] helped bring Sound of Freedom to theaters."
The film dramatizes the story of anti-child sex-trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad and its founder, Tim Ballard, who is played in the movie by Jim Caviezel.
Neal Harmon, Jeffrey's brother and CEO of Angel Studios, also issued a statement on Friday discussing its crowdfunding policy for Sound of Freedom.
"Angel Studios adhered to the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations in allowing 6,678 people to invest an average of $748.73 each into the launch of SOUND OF FREEDOM. 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 statement said.
"We're grateful to brave law enforcement officials who have already arrested dozens of traffickers in the weeks following SOUND OF FREEDOM's release. Our film speaks to this globally-pervasive problem, and it is our hope that perpetrators everywhere will be brought to justice no matter who they are, and that even more people will see the film to raise awareness."
Newsweek reached out to Angel Studios via email for further comment on Friday afternoon.
Sound of Freedom has continued to gain an array of different responses since its release, with many Republicans praising the movie. South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott said the film was "amazing."
Shortly after its release, many social media users claimed that the film was being suppressed by movie theaters, but AMC CEO Adam Aron disputed these claims: "Yesterday we showed that movie 3,000 times at our 570 U.S. theaters and more than 100,000 people watched it @AMCTheatres. Misinformation on Twitter is astonishing. Bots? Haters?"
Update 07/072/023, 2:50 a.m. ET: This article was updated to revise the date Marta was charged following a correction from the St Louis Metropolitan Police.
Update 07/08/2023 5:30 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information for context.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
