A Missouri man who supported the crowdfunded and controversial anti-child trafficking film Sound of Freedom has been charged with kidnapping under child endangerment laws.
In July, Fabian Marta was charged with felony child kidnapping. In the film’s credits, Marta is listed among the “investors [who] helped bring Sound of Freedom to theaters.”
Sound of Freedom centers on Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-child sex trafficking organization founded by Tim Ballard, portrayed by Jim Caviezel, a QAnon conspiracy theory adherent.
QAnon is named for a person identified only as “Q” who began posting conspiracy theories on the website 4chan in 2017. Chief among them is “the false belief that a highly organized network of global elites are kidnapping children, having sex with them and harvesting their blood,” The Washington Postexplains. A similar theory that predated QAnon was Pizzagate, which falsely claimed that a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant was the headquarters of a pedophile ring that included Bill and Hillary Clinton. It led an armed man to attack the restaurant in 2016.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police say Marta, 51, was arrested on July 23 after being charged on July 21, Newsweekreports.
“The Sound of Freedom movie tackles a very tough subject, and took extraordinary effort to bring it to movie theaters,” Marta said in a deleted post on his Facebook page. “I’m proud to have been a small part of it. If you see the movie look for ‘Fabian Marta and Family’ at the very end of the credits.”
“Fabian Marta & Family” are listed as funding backers in the movie’s ending credits.
The next court date listed in records for Marta is August 28. The court records do not list his legal counsel.
Despite a $15,000 bail set, he was released on personal recognizance following his initial appearance on July 24. There is no information available about the incident involved in the criminal case.
Marta faces a prison sentence ranging from 10 years to life if found guilty of felony kidnapping.
Although it’s received some positive responses from moviegoers, the film has also been widely criticized for starring Caviezel, who has espoused QAnon conspiracy theories.
As a result of reports that a patron of the movie had been arrested and charged with felony child kidnapping in July, Angel Studios, which distributed the film, formally responded.
In a statement to IndieWire on Friday, the distributor’s CEO, Neal Harmon, defended the legal process of public investment in the company’s films but also expressed hope that those responsible “will be brought to justice no matter who they are.”
