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Tim Ballard of ‘Sound of Freedom’ Fame Accused of Sexual Misconduct

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Just as Tim Ballard was rumored to be getting into the senate race in Utah, seven women have reportedly accused him of sexual misconduct. 

Ballard is best known for being the inspiration behind the hit film Sound of Freedom, which starred Jim Cavezial. The movie told the story of a man, based on Ballard, who sought to rescue children from a sex trafficking operation in Latin America. 

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Now, Ballard is facing a firestorm.

Sources familiar with the investigation said Ballard — who was portrayed by Jim Cavaziel onscreen in “Sound of Freedom” — had allegedly asked women to act as his “wife” on undercover missions carried out to rescue sex-trafficking victims. 

He allegedly pressured women to share a bed or shower with him during the missions, suggesting it was necessary to fool the traffickers, the sources claimed.

Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security official, was also accused of sending one woman an underwear-clad photo of himself and asking how far she was willing to go to save trafficked kids. 

These allegations are apparently behind Ballard’s sudden departure from Operation Underground Railroad, the non-profit he started to combat sex slavery, some months prior. According to the above-mentioned sources, the investigation centers on him pressuring women into sexually compromising positions by saying they were necessary to save children. It does not appear there are any allegations of physical sexual assault. 

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Ballard has not commented on the revelations as of this writing. 

The investigation into this matter is internal within Operation Underground Railroad. It is possible some kind of civil action could follow, though there is no indication a criminal investigation is underway. This is a developing story. 

VIP GOLD CHAT: We Say Goodbye to Mitt and Get Ready for the 2024 Primaries Just Months Away

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Your second Wednesday of September, and that means it is time for the RedState VIP GOLD LIVE chat with Duke and Scott, and they are ready to rock into this first (partial) month of fall. 

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First up, we have the incredibly shocking and sad announcement that the Senator from Massachu…errrr, Utah, has decided not to run for reelection in the Beehive State. Will anyone outside of Utah care, and how disappointed will Donald Trump be to not have Mitt Romney to verbally attack?

BREAKING: Mitt Romney Says He Won’t Run for Senate in 2024

Then we will talk about the primary clock ticking a tad bit louder now that we are just 124 days until the January 15th GOP caucuses in Iowa and 143 days until the Democrats’ primary in South Carolina on February 3rd. Do Trump and Biden both make the cut for November 2024?

We will chat about this and more tonight at 8 p.m. EDT.

Not a VIP Gold member yet and can’t watch this show LIVE or on REPLAY? What are you waiting for, and why not join?

There’s so much great content awaiting you, not only here at RedState, but with your VIP Gold subscription, you’ll have access to VIP content across all of the Townhall Media sites, including Townhall, Twitchy, HotAir, Bearing Arms, and PJ Media. We’ve even got a huge discount available right now – using code SAVEAMERICA you’ll get 40% off, giving you an annual VIP Gold membership for less than $60

EXCLUSIVE: Primary Rival Tells RedState His Campaign Prompted Romney to Retire

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The mayor of Riverton, Utah, running for the 2024 Republican Senate nomination, told RedState that he was thrilled but not surprised by the news his rival, Sen. W. Mitt Romney, decided to return to private life. 

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“It feels great,” said Trent Staggs, who has been the Riverton mayor for 10 years.

“I think our messaging is really resonating with folks,” he said. “We’ve picked up such great support and a strong coalition in the state, and I am sure that was noticed by Mitt Romney and led to his decision.”

The mayor said the mood of the state’s voters has turned against Romney.

“It’s been three to four months now since we announced, and as we’ve been touring the state and talking to so many conservatives and so many other elected officials here locally,” he said.

“They expressed just the dissatisfaction with the representation or lack thereof they were getting from Senator Romney,” he said.

Staggs noted the one issue that voters always bring up to him is the runaway federal spending.

“Without a doubt, it’s spending, it’s the size, scope, burden of the federal government that can take a number of different shapes, but spending at the top of the list,” he said.

“Mitt Romney’s voting record and support for higher spending–it’s led to this just crushing inflation that so many are feeling,” he said.

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“Another reason why so many just feel misrepresented by Mitt Romney—he doesn’t really encapsulate the values and the principles that Utahans have, and that’s what they’re looking for as somebody who is authentically Utah and consistently conservative,” Staggs said. 

Embracing the news that House Republicans have begun the formal impeachment process against President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Staggs said if he were sitting in the Senate, he would welcome Biden’s impeachment trial.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “We’ve seen such a miscarriage of justice that’s gone on here with respect to the persecution of Donald Trump, and we need to be able to go after true corruption.”

The evidence of the president’s corruption is overwhelming, he said.

“This Biden administration, I think, has demonstrated that, and we need to definitely hold him accountable.”

In his video announcing his decision, the senator touted his role in passing higher spending bills, like Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill, along with legislation restricting gun rights and reducing congressional scrutiny of Electoral College results.

Romney threw shade on his fellow elders when he said he was getting too old for the job.

“I’ve spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another,” he said. “At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s; frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders.”

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The former Massachusetts governor and Bain Capital investment banker also took shots at President Donald J. Trump and Biden.

“Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront those issues on deficits and debt,” he said. 

“Both men refuse to address entitlements even though they know that this represents two-thirds of federal spending,” he said. 

Romney’s stepping away from public life comes less than four months after another member of the state’s Capitol Hill delegation made the same decision. Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, who flew B-1 Lancers in the Air Force, announced he was resigning from his seat to care for his wife. 

BREAKING: Mitt Romney Says He Won’t Run for Senate in 2024

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Utah’s junior Senator, Mitt Romney, announced on Wednesday that he will not be seeking reelection in 2024. The 76-year-old was elected in 2018, following stints as the Governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007) and presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012 (becoming the GOP nominee in the latter). 

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Romney has remained in the moderate wing of the party, and famously clashed with former President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, delivering a highly critical speech on March 3, 2016, calling on Republicans to choose a nominee other than Trump. Following Trump’s win in November, however, Romney reportedly angled for the Secretary of State position, which ultimately went to Rex Tillerson. In 2020, Romney broke ranks with his fellow Republican senators and voted to convict Trump following the first impeachment. (He was joined by five other Republicans in voting to convict following the second impeachment in 2021.) 

Romney made his announcement in a video posted to social media: 

In the two-and-a-half-minute video, Romney touted his own achievements while acknowledging that he’d be in his mid-80s at the end of another term, were he to seek one. He emphasized the need for a new generation of leaders, noting “They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in.” He also offered some criticisms of both President Biden and former President Trump:

You know, contrary to a lot of expectations, I enjoy my work in the Senate a good deal. The last few years have been particularly productive, as I was able to help lead and negotiate the bipartisan Infrastructure law, a comprehensive China strategy process, religious liberty protections, a compromise gun safety law, the Electoral Count Act reform, and emergency COVID relief funding. 

I was also able to help secure key Utah priorities, including funding for Hill Air Force Base and its program to modernize our nuclear deterrent, as well as funding for wildfire prevention, water infrastructure, rural broadband, removal of uranium tailings from Moab, expansion and restoration of our highway and transit infrastructure, and federal studies to save the Great Salt Lake. 

I’ve spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in. 

Now, we face critical challenges: mounting national debt, climate change, and the ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China. Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront those issues. On deficits and debt, both men refuse to address entitlements, even though they know that this represents two-thirds of federal spending. Donald Trump calls global warming a hoax, and President Biden offers feel-good solutions that make no difference to the global climate. On China, President Biden underinvests in the military, and President Trump underinvests in our alliances. Political motivations too often impede the solutions that these challenges demand. The next generation of leaders must take America to the next stage of global leadership. 

While I’m not running for reelection, I’m not retiring from the fight. I’ll be your United States senator until January of 2025. I will keep working on these and other issues, and I’ll advance our state’s numerous priorities. I look forward to working with you and with folks across our state and nation in that endeavor. It really is a profound honor to serve Utah and the country, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so. 

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As RedState previously reported, Riverton, Utah, Mayor Trent Staggs has already declared his run for the seat, as has Utah Speaker of the House Brad Wilson. 

Staggs shared his thoughts on Romney’s announcements on X (formerly Twitter):

Our Neil McCabe interviewed Staggs in late July and will have more reaction from him shortly.