By Tim Ballard @timballard89 via Instagram
CV NEWS FEED // Tim Ballard, the former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent and current activist against child sex trafficking whose work was the basis for the summer blockbuster “Sound of Freedom,” is considering a run for the U.S. Senate.
According to Senate Working Group Executive Director James Kimmey, “multiple sources” have confirmed Ballard is seeking the US. Senate seat from Utah that will be up for election next year. The seat is set to be vacated by retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, R-UT.
So far, the only declared Republican candidate in the running for the seat is Trent Staggs, the Mayor of Riverton (a city of just under 50,000 people), who joined the race challenging Romney from the right.
Since Utah is among the most conservative states in the nation, it is most likely that the Republican Primary will be tantamount to election.
Jim Caviezel played the role of Ballard in the hit film. Despite its modest budget and multiple studios denying it distribution rights, “Sound of Freedom” greatly exceeded its expectations, selling over a million tickets in less than a week prior to its release.
In less than two and a half months, it grossed over $210 million at the box office – nearly 15 times its budget.
The rumored candidate is a well-known anti-child-sex-trafficking activist and the founder of the non-profit organization Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). He is also the father of nine children.
OUR states on its website:
We go to the darkest corners of the world to assist in rescuing children from slavery and ensure ongoing aftercare, provide cutting edge tools and resources to U.S. law enforcement throughout the United States, while strengthening preventative efforts that benefit at-risk children worldwide.
The organization was established in 2013 and says that it has been involved in over 4,000 operations, has impacted over 7,000 lives, and has been involved in over 6,500 arrests.
The Washington Examiner reported that Ballard left his post at OUR earlier this year, and on Wednesday he
made an appearance on Capitol Hill to testify to the House Homeland Security Committee, where he took on President Joe Biden’s border policy. He blamed the Biden administration’s 2021 decision to stop taking fingerprints and conducting in-depth background checks of adults who step forward to care for children as a grave mistake that led to children being lost after release.
