Surprise Hit ‘Sound Of Freedom’ Moves Up In Box Office Rankings—Grossing $85 Million Despite Controversy

Ana FaguyJul 16, 2023,

Topline

Sound of Freedom—the crowd-funded film based on a former government agent’s pursuit to rescue child sex trafficking victims—moved up the box office ranking in its second weekend in theaters, a rarity for movies and a sign of the strong support for the film, particularly from right-wing audiences, despite the scrutiny it has faced for its lead actor’s ties to conspiracy theories.

Key Facts

Sound of Freedom took home the No. 2 spot at the box office this weekend, earning $27 million from Friday to Sunday and over $85 million overall since it opened in theaters on July 4, according to Box Office Mojo.

The seventh Mission: Impossible movie earned the No. 1 spot, at $56.2 million.

Last weekend, Sound of Freedom grossed $19.7 million in U.S. theaters and came in third place behind horror film Insidious: The Red Door and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny—but Sound of Freedom outpaced both movies this weekend while boosting its Friday-to-Sunday earnings by some $7.3 million week-to-week.

Sound of Freedom is now the 18th highest-grossing film this year in terms of U.S. sales, trailing big-budget films by major studios like The Flash, Elemental and Fast X, but outpacing Cocaine Bear and 80 for Brady, according to Box Office Mojo.

Big Number

72%. That’s the critics’ score the film received on Rotten Tomatoes.

Key Background

The film is based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security agent, who tries to save children who have been sex trafficked. Ballard reportedlyhas not claimed to conduct a mission exactly like the one in the film, but the movie ends with a montage from Ballard’s organizations’ real missions in Colombia.

Chief Critic

The film has been criticized for its the way it portrays child exploitation and because both Ballard and Jim Caviezel, who plays him in the film, have expressed openness to QAnon or similar conspiracy theories in the past. Ballard previously appeared open to a debunked theory that the furniture retailer Wayfair was selling children. Meanwhile, Caviezel has spoken at multiple QAnon events where he promoted the adrenochrome conspiracy theory, which claims child trafficking rings drain their victims’ blood to harvest adrenochrome—a chemical some conspiracy theorists believe people in Hollywood inject to stay young. Additionally, the organization Ballard founded, Operation Underground Railroad, has allegedly exaggerated its role in sex-trafficking rescues, according to a Vice investigation. Multiple law enforcement agencies told Vice Operation Underground Railroad’s role was “insubstantial.”

Contra

Angel Studios, the film’s distributor, has denied the film is connected to conspiracy theories. But nevertheless the film has been the talk of the town among many right-wing pundits, including conservative commentator Jordan Peterson, who interviewed both Ballard and Caviezel on his YouTube channel. Right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro also hosted the pair on his show.Even former President Donald Trump shared a link to the film’s trailer on Truth Social earlier this month.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/07/16/surprise-hit-sound-of-freedom-moves-up-in-box-office-rankings-grossing-85-million-despite-controversy/?sh=69743c2cfc27

>>19199803

Unlikely hit 'Sound of Freedom' opens new front in US culture wars

Frankie TAGGART

Mon, July 17, 2023 at 9:24 PM EDT

With superhero movies, video-game adaptations and sequels bombing and getting panned by critics, Hollywood was braced for another disappointing year – until an unheralded thriller about child trafficking upended industry expectations.

The surprise hit of the summer, "Sound of Freedom," has so far earned $85.5 million at North American theaters in just two weeks since its release – roughly six times its $14.5 million budget.

Last weekend, it comfortably outpaced pricey blockbusters like "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."

With its riveting take on the true story of a former government agent rescuing children from the clutches of Colombian criminals, you'd think it would be the kind of movie that everyone could get behind.

But this is America, where "culture wars" over gas stoves, Pride flags and "The Cat in the Hat" can end friendships and turn neighbor on neighbor – and where half the country can dismiss as evil incarnate a movie that the other half loves.

Conservatives have lavished "Sound of Freedom" with praise for speaking to a section of blue-collar America which they say has been snubbed by Hollywood elites.

Liberals have called it a recruiting tool for the far-right that promotes the QAnon conspiracy theory about a cabal of pedophiles from Hollywood and the Democratic Party kidnapping children and harvesting their blood.

"What's almost as interesting as the movie itself is the reaction it seems to provoke from the mainstream media that seem determined to tear it down at any cost," said British thriller writer Will Jordan in a positive review posted to his 1.8 million-subscriber YouTube channel, "The Critical Drinker."

"I mean, you'd think a movie that sheds light on the hidden nightmare of child trafficking would be a pretty admirable cause worthy of support."

• 'Word of mouth' -

Shot in 2018 with funding from Mexican investors, the film tells the story of former US Homeland Security special agent Tim Ballard, who in 2013 started Operation Underground Railroad to rescue children from Colombian sex traffickers.

It has become a cause celebre for right-wing pundits from Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro to former president Donald Trump, who is hosting a screening of the film at his New Jersey golf club on Wednesday.

The film was originally scheduled for release by 20th Century Fox, but that deal was canceled when Disney bought the studio in 2019, paving the way for Angel Studios to step in.

"We're getting messages from all over the country telling us about packed theaters, sold-out theaters, and spontaneous standing ovations for the film in numerous locations," said Brandon Purdie, Angel's head of theatrical distribution.

"Seeing this film has become a must, thanks to incredible word of mouth."

But the movie has been criticized for mischaracterizing the problem of trafficking and because of the controversy surrounding its star Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" (2004).

The devout Catholic, 54, has addressed several QAnon events and promotes the conspiracy theory that child trafficking rings drain their victims' blood for the hormone adrenochrome, believing it to be an elixir that wards off aging.

Ballard has also flirted publicly with another debunked theory, that a major US furniture retailer sells children, tweeting in 2020: "With or without Wayfair, child trafficking is real and happening!!!"

Operation Underground Railroad has also been accused of exaggerating its role in child trafficking rescue operations.

• 'Profoundly depressing' -

Criticism of "Sound of Freedom," which co-stars Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, has pitted the traditional entertainment media against the filmgoing public, withaudiences awarding it a perfect score of 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and an A+ on CinemaScore.

There were largely negative reviews from mainstream liberal outlets like Variety, The New York Times and The Guardian, which called it "QAnon-adjacent" or just plain dull.

"To know thousands of adults will absorb 'Sound of Freedom,' this vigilante fever dream, and come away thinking themselves better informed on a hidden civilizational crisis… well, it's profoundly depressing," said Rolling Stone.

But Jordan sees hypocrisy in the criticism, contrasting the objections to the film with the support liberals gave "Cuties," a 2020 Netflix drama accused of hypersexualizing young girls.

"It's a film that reminds us that even though there are a lot of bad people in this world doing the worst things imaginable, there are also still good men fighting to bring them to justice," he said.

"And maybe that's something we could all do with remembering."

https://news.yahoo.com/unlikely-hit-sound-freedom-opens-012427804.html

>>19199810

This older article calls it an “action movie”

AMC Theatres CEO slams 'Sound of Freedom' conspiracy theories about screening disruptions as 'garbage'

Adam Aron and distributor Angel Studios have joined forces to quell a boycott against the exhibition chain over the Jim Caviezelaction movie

July 13, 2023, 5:11 PM EDT

AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron and “Sound of Freedom” distributor Angel Studios have joined forces to quell a boycott against the exhibition chain over the release of the Jim Caviezel action movie.

Social media users have accused AMC of purposely disrupting “Sound of Freedom” screenings following accusations that the hit film stokes QAnon conspiracy theories. Rolling Stone, for instance, slammed “Sound of Freedom” as a “QAnon-tinged thriller.”

Claims include AMC canceling screenings and disrupting showtimes with technical difficulties and broken air conditioning.

“Sadly, conspiracy theorists are so prevalent in America. So much garbage information is spread,” Aron wrote on Twitter. “More than ONE MILLION people have watched ‘Sound of Freedom’ at AMC Theatres. More than at any other theatre chain on the planet. Yet people falsely claim otherwise. It is so bizarre.”

Written and directed by Alejandro Monteverde, “Sound of Freedom” is based on the true story of Tim Ballard. “The Passion of the Christ” star Caviezel plays a former government agent who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp co-star.

“Sound of Freedom” has proven to be an unexpected box office hit since its release on July 4. The movie had an opening day gross of $14.2 million, and it went on to earn another $18.2 million over its first weekend. “Sound of Freedom” held the second spot at the July 12 box office, trailing behind only Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.” Its current gross stands at just over $53 million.

Angel Studios is behind the “Sound of Freedom” release and used a “Pay It Forward” app to encourage moviegoers to buy tickets for others to see the film. About $2.6 million of opening day sales were earned through this method. The studio released a statement stressing to fans that AMC is supporting “Sound of Freedom.”

“We understand there are rumors — predominantly in social media — that AMC theaters have made it difficult for fans to see ‘Sound of Freedom’ in local AMC theaters, and we want to make it clear these rumors are not accurate,” Angel Studios’ head of theatrical distribution Brandon Purdie said.

“AMC has been an outstanding partner for Angel Studios, and in fact, as a result of the movie’s performance and consumer demand, AMC has agreed to add additional screens for ‘Sound of Freedom’ this weekend,” he said.

Purdie added, “Angel Studios and the producers of ‘Sound of Freedom’ are asking our fans to support AMC, and all of our other theatrical partners. Summer is the busiest season for people working in theaters, so we ask that anyone attending a screening of ‘Sound of Freedom’ show kindness to their local theater staff. We have the best movie fans in the business. Let’s continue to show theaters the love that Angel supporters are known for.”

Angel Studios reports that more than 450 new theaters will screen “Sound of Freedom” starting July 14.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amc-theatres-ceo-slams-sound-freedom-conspiracy-theories-screening-dis-rcna94174

>>19199834

Box office: How did ‘Sound of Freedom’ become the $85 million hit of the summer?

Edward Douglas

Mon, July 17, 2023 at 12:30 PM EDT

This past weekend, a movie took second place at the box office with $27 million, surpassing two massive franchise sequels, but there were other reasons why it might turn some heads in Hollywood.

That movie was Angel Studios’ “Sound of Freedom,” a drama starring Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ”) as government agent Tim Ballard, who gives up his job to go on dangerous missions to save children in third-world countries from sex trafficking. Co-written and directed by Alejandro Monteverde (“Little Boy”), the film co-stars Oscar winner Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp.

Normally, an indie drama about a difficult topic would barely get released in more than a few hundred theaters, if that, but Angel Studios released “Sound of Freedom” wide with a brilliant marketing campaign to pay it forward in terms of buying tickets for others to see it.

“Sound of Freedom” opened on the 4th of July Tuesday (another savvy marketing strategy) and grossed $14.2 million in 2,634 theaters, a pretty great start, but few thought it could hold up that business through the weekend, especially when it only made $4 million on Wednesday and even less on Thursday. In fact, it added another 300 theaters over the weekend and word-of-mouth drove its first weekend up to $19.7 million, with Saturday and Sunday making more than every day but Tuesday.

On Monday and Tuesday, before “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” opened, the movie returned to the #1 slot over “Insidious” and “Indiana Jones” sequels that had ranked above it over the weekend, and it maintained its $4 million-a-day leading up to the weekend. It ended up doing even better this past weekend with an estimated $27 million, up 37% from its previous weekend.

The fact that the movie made more its second weekend than the first is not something that happens very often, as Angel Studios’ Head of Theatrical Distribution Brandon Purdie noted. “There have only been 10 wide release movies in box office history that have had a 2nd weekend increase greater than 35% over their opening weekend,” he declared. “All of them did it at Christmas. Angel Studios is the only Studio to do this in the summer blockbuster season with ‘Sound of Freedom.'”

As of Sunday, the movie has grossed $85 million, which is the best showing for an independent film in quite some time, even defeating last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

What’s also surprising is that reviews for the movie aren’t bad, currently at 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas normally an inspirational or faith-based movie like this one would not find many fans among critics. The movie also seems to have found a lot of support from the right wing, adding to any controversy but also annoying the generally liberal critical pool.

The film also reviewed a very rare “A+” CinemaScore, something we’ve seen for movies like “Black Panther”and “The Help” and “Frozen,” and perhaps oddly, also Caviezel’s breakout film, “The Passion of the Christ,” showing that audiences absolutely adored the movie and more people were discovering it through word-of-mouth than traditional pre-opening marketing.

We’ll have to see how “Sound of Freedom” fares over the next week and especially over the coming weekend, but there’s little doubt that it can cross $100 million and keep going as counter-programming as long as itkeeps being driven by word of mouth and an ingenious way of getting people to buy tickets for others.

Kek at the end of article: “Grab the popcorn and sound off in our movie forums”

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/box-office-did-sound-freedom-163015066.html

(This article tells the truth about media coverup)

‘Sound of Freedom’ Review: 2023’s Most Powerful Film The Media Tried To Bury And Discredit

Jacob SmithJuly 17, 2023

The Walt Disney Company has thrown a lot of crap into movie theaters over the last several years but the one film that they didn’t want you to see was Sound of Freedom.

A movie that was shot in 2018 under the 20th Century Fox banner was shelved by Disney after the merger. In the years that followed, members of the media began to smear the credibility of Tim Ballard and his outfit Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), an anti-sex trafficking organization that has conducted multiple sting operations around the world.

Media outlets such as Vice News and Slate criticized the organization and questioned its legitimacy by trying to connect the organization to QAnon. The media sought to damage the credibility of Tim Ballard and his efforts to expose child sex trafficking around the world.

The media despised Operation Underground Railroad claiming that they were affecting “legitimate sex workers.” Child sex trafficking and child sex abuse is a global billion-dollar operation that is not just controlled by drug cartels, but an industry that is controlled by the most powerful people in the world.

A film that exposes the sexual abuse of children around the same time thatJeffrey Epstein, a mysterious billionaire withconnections to an alleged pedophilia ring involving the world’s elite, wasn’t a good look for big media.

It is clear why people in high positions of power did not want anyone to watch this movie. Sound of Freedom is a film about special agent Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) who works for Homeland Security scoping out child predators and bringing them to justice.

Ballard has arrested hundreds of pedophiles but after realizing that he hadn’t saved any of the child victims, he decides to change his approach and go after the children themselves. Ballard’s investigation leads him to a human trafficking ring operating between Honduras and Mexico, but Homeland Security doesn’t have jurisdiction over those countries.

Tim decides to find the missing children and bring them back home to their parents. As a result, Tim becomes embroiled in a dark and sinister world of child human trafficking leading him down a path that will put his faith and his will on the brink.

___Sound of Freedom is one of the most important films to come out in the last couple of decades and it only scratches the surface of a much bigger problem__. While the reality of these activities may be shocking and disturbing,the media doesn’t want anyone to know the people who funds and runs these types of endeavors.

This film forces the audience to accept the reality that they can no longer ignore. While it is not sexually explicit, much of the content of this movie is very hard to watch as it puts children in compromising positions.

It’s not the portrayals that make these scenes uncomfortable, it is the reality that this is happening to children every day in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the United States of America. Many call this a faith-based movie but the faith comes from coming to terms with the evil in the world and knowing the way that you can fight pure evil is with pure goodness. “God’s children are not for sale.”

The Verdict

Sound of Freedom is the most powerful movie that you will watch this year. The acting is well done, the cinematography is stellar, and the most important aspect is that the heart that went into making this film is undeniable.

More heart than you can see for your average $300 million big-budget Disney movie that got propped up because they don’t want anyone to pay attention to this film. Sound of Freedom is destined to make you sick, to make you angry, and to make you cry but this film is the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger glacier.

If every major media organization in the world wants you to not watch something, that is exactly what you need to be watching.

https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/07/17/sound-of-freedom-review-2023s-most-powerful-film-the-media-tried-to-bury-and-discredit/

18 Jul, 2023 09:15

Ukrainian naval terror drone bases destroyed – Moscow

The strikes came in retaliation to the Crimean Bridge attack, which claimed two civilian lives

The Russian military has conducted strikes on Ukrainian facilities used to prepare terrorist attacks, the Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday. The attacks were carried out in retaliation to Monday’s attack on the Crimean Bridge, which claimed two civilian lives and left one child injured.

In a statement, the ministry said that Russian forces overnight launched “a group retaliatory strike” usinghigh-precision sea-based weapons. The attack wasaimed at facilitiesthat were used to prepare “terrorist acts” against Russia involving unmanned drones, as well as theshipyard in the southern Ukrainiancity of Odessa that produced them, it added.

Apart from this, thebarrage targeted depotsin Odessa and Nikolaev thatcontained around 70,000 tons of fuelmeant for the Ukrainian military. “All designated targets have been hit. Fires and detonations have been registered at the destroyed facilities,” according to the statement.

On Tuesday, Sergey Bratchuk, the head of the Odessa administration, reported a rocket attack on the city which involvedsix Kalibr missiles, but claimed that all of them had been downed. However, he noted that “port infrastructure facilities” and several other buildings were damaged in the strike.

Vitaly Kim, the head of the Nikolaev administration, said the attack hit “an industrial facility,” causing a fire that was promptly extinguished.

Unverified footage circulating on social media shows Ukrainian air defenses firing at an unknown target in Odessa Region, with a powerful explosion occurring several seconds later. __Local media suggested that the strike could have destroyed a German-suppliedGepard air defense system___.

Another unverified clip from Nikolaev Region appears to show a loud explosion and a fire.

On Monday, Russia accused Ukraine of staging a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge involving two maritime drones which damaged one section of the roadway and killed a married couple, injuring their minor daughter.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised retaliation, noting at the time that the Defense Ministry was already preparing “necessary proposals.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/579886-ukrainian-centers-terrorist-attacks-destroyed/

18 Jul, 2023 08:20

UK likely involved in Crimean Bridge attack – Russian diplomat

The deputy UN envoy also blasted the West for failing to condemn Kiev for the “act of terrorism”

The UK’s intelligence services likely played a considerable role in setting the stage for Ukraine’s drone attack on the Crimean Bridge, which took the lives of two civilians, Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN claimed on Monday.

His remarks came after Russia’s National Antiterrorist Committee (NAK) accused Kiev of staging a “terrorist attack” on the key link between the Crimean Peninsula and the country’s mainland, which it said involved two sea surface drones.

While the raid did not damage the bridge’s supports, it led to a partial collapse of one section of the roadway and killed a married couple from Belgorod Region, injuring their 14-year-old daughter.

Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine, Polyansky blasted “the Kiev regime”for the attack, while suggesting there may have been Western complicity. “We have yet to understand the extent to which Western, particularly British, intelligence services were involved in the preparation and execution of this attack: too much is pointing at it,” he said.

The UK has dismissed the accusation. A spokesperson for the British Foreign Ministry called it “baseless speculation” which does not deserve a response, as quoted by Reuters.

The Russian diplomat added that he had “not heard any condemnation of this act of terrorism” from Kiev’s backers in the West. Commenting on the attack earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it is up to Ukraine to decide how to protect “its territory.”

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov interpreted Blinken’s remarks as an attempt to “justify the terrorist acts of Kiev against Russian citizens and facilities.”

“The fact that Washington is covering up [for] Kiev radicals allows [us]to confidently state that the United States is complicit in Kiev’s crimes,” he said, adding that US support may encourage Ukraine to commit “new atrocities.”

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retaliation for the drone attack on the bridge, saying the raid was “pointless” from a military standpoint, as it is not being used to transport military materials.

https://www.rt.com/russia/579880-uk-intelligence-complicit-crimean-bridge/

18 Jul, 2023 09:35

Ukrainian informant planning terrorist attack busted – FSB

A woman in Russia’s Yaroslavl Region stands accused of collecting intelligence to direct drone strikes for Kiev

A woman in Russia’s Yaroslavl Region is under investigation for terrorism after she allegedly agreed to help Ukraine launch drone attacks deep inside the country, the Russian security service, the FSB, announced on Tuesday.

The suspect is said to be in her mid-30s and living in the town of Uglich, some 200 km north of Moscow. According to the FSB statement,she collected intelligence about critical infrastructurein the region on behalf of Ukrainian special services, which she knew would be used for attempted acts of terrorism.

Footage released by the FSB includes screenshots from messages the woman allegedly exchanged with her Ukrainian handlers in late May.

One of her texts expresses the hope that Ukrainian drones would penetrate deep inside Russia to stir anti-government sentiment. In another one, the suspect apparently refused to target conscription centers and railroads, but agreed tocollect intelligence on hydropower plants. The handler promised to “blow them all up.”

There was also some surveillance footage of the suspect, including of her filming the Uglich Hydroelectric Station on the Volga River.

If convicted, the woman faces up to 20 years in jail for terrorism.

The FSB regularly reports catching persons suspected of doing various illegal missions on Kiev’s behalf. A high-profile case revealed last week involved a neo-Nazi group, members of which were accused of preparing assassinations of RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan and another prominent journalist, Ksenia Sobchak.

https://www.rt.com/russia/579881-fsb-uglich-hydropower-plant/

Russian FSB detains woman collecting data on critical infrastructure for Ukraine

00:49 seconds

https://rumble.com/embed/v2y3vtu/?pub=4

18 Jul, 2023 04:49

Dozens of drones target Crimea – MOD

The Russian military reportedly intercepted at least 28 UAVs on Tuesday morning

The Russian military has thwarted an attempted mass drone strike on critical infrastructure in the east of the Crimean Peninsula, according to the Defense Ministry, which claimed dozens of drones had been shot down or suppressed electronically overnight.

“Seventeen Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed by air defense systems. Eleven more UAVs were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed before reaching their targets,” the military said in a brief statement on Tuesday morning.

There were no casualties or damage on the ground following the attempted air raid, according to Crimean Governor Sergey Aksyonov.

The incident comes a day after a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge, which claimed the lives of two civilians and injured a child. Moscow accused Kiev of using two unmanned maritime surface drones to target the bridge, which suffered considerable damage to one section of the roadway.

Amid the conflict with Russia, Ukraine has repeatedly attempted to target facilities on the peninsula. On Sunday, Ukraine launched a massive drone raid on the city of Sevastopol, which serves as a base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry and local officials, the attack involved eight aerial and two naval semi-submersible drones which had been neutralized either by air defenses or electronic warfare measures.

https://www.rt.com/russia/579876-crimea-dozens-drones-intercepted/

18 Jul, 2023 13:55

French town to use DNA to trace dog feces

Authorities plan to use a genetic database to fine dog owners who fail to pick up after their pets

Dog owners in the southern French town of Beziers could soon be required to obtain a “genetic passport” for their animals as local authorities try to reduce dog feces on the streets, according to a proposal put out by local mayor Robert Menard over the weekend.

Speaking to local radio station France Bleu, the mayor pointed out that the residents of Beziers had grown frustrated with pet owners who fail to pick up after their dogs and claimed that the street cleaning services had been picking up asmany as 1,000 feces a month just in the center of the town.

“That’s not right,” said Menard, noting that putting more police officers on the street has only had a limited effect. “When there’s a police officer, people clean up. It’s when there’s no one around that they don’t crouch down and do their civic duty,” he said.

Menard has been seeking to introduce dog DNA testing since 2016, but has faced resistance from the local administrative court, which argued such a tactic was an attack on personal freedom. Now, however, he has been given the greenlight to introduce the measure as part of a two-year experiment.

“We have to punish to make people behave better,” Menard said, noting that the experiment would run until July 2025.

Under the new rules, dog owners will be required to go to their local veterinary office to provide a sample of their pets’ saliva. The sample would then be genetically tested and put into a database, after which a “genetic passport” would be issued for the animal. Obtaining the passport is mandatory, and those who are stopped without one will face a fine of €38.

Once the database is formed, street cleaners will be able to collect dog excrement found on the pavement and send them for testing to match it to a specific owner, who will be presented with a street cleaning fine of up to €122, according to Menard.

The mayor noted that the street cleaning fine would not be enforced for another three months, promising a soft launch of the new measures.

https://www.rt.com/news/579906-france-dog-dna-database/

Current Ray Epps Attorney Behind FOX News Lawsuit is Managing Director of 65 Project – His Earlier Attorney Worked for FBI for 9 Years and Bashed Cops on Twitter

by Jim Hoft Jul. 18, 2023 8:00 am85 Comments

Strange.

The previous attorney for Ray Epps worked for the FBI for nine years and bashed cops.

The current attorney for Ray Epps is director of the 65 Project, a fascist group dedicated to destroying and disbarring any attorneywho assists Donald Trump or questions election fraud in America.

As Heather Allen and Patty McMurray 100 Percent Fed Up previously reported – Democrats and the crooked DOJ have gone out of their way to protect the MAGA hat-wearing Ray Epps, but the question just won’t go away—Who is Ray Epps, and what was his role on Jan. 6 and the days preceding the “insurrection” at the US Capitol?

Video via the Villain Report.

Videos of Ray Epps leading J6 protestors have gone viral on social media, but for some odd reason, he has never been arrested. He has been protected when others have been prosecuted for lesser offenses. Is he an FBI informant? Is he an FBI agent?

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (KY) has repeatedly been stonewalled by the January 6 Witch Hunt Committee when asking questions about Epp’s identity or his role in the so-called January 6 “insurrection.”

Watch far-left Jan. 6 Witch HuntCommittee member Rep. Jamie Raskin defend Ray Eppsafter Rep. Thomas Massie asks about Ray Epps. Massie became very defensive about the MAGA hat-wearing Ray Epps as “that poor guy” and asking Republicans to “leave him alone,” and suggested Republicans should be more concerned about Donald Trump’s money-grubbing niece’s accusations against him that have since been thrown out of court by a judge.

When Senator Ted Cruz asked Assistant FBI Director Jill Sanborn, “Was Ray Epps a fed?” She responded, “Senator, I can’t answer that question.”

Tucker Carlson asked why the Trump-hating RINO Rep. Adam Kinsinger (IL) continues to defend and even “praise” Ray Epps.

But with the release of the J6 Committee transcript, the question of Ray Epps’ true identity and his role in the January 6 fed-surrection is more pertinent than ever.

Dinesh D’Souza posted part of the transcript from Epp’s January 21, 2022, committee questioning. Epps was asked about a text exchange with his nephew. On January 6, 2021, Ray Epps responded to his nephew’s text.

When asked if he was safe, he replied,

“I WAS IN THE FRONT WITH A FEW OTHERS. I ALSO ORCHESTRATED

The recently released transcript shows Epps and his son have no memory of Epps being called a “Fed.” Epps continually claims that his J6 role was “only trying to protect the police when, on the night of J5, he publicly advocated for people to go into the Capitol.”

But here’s where things get even more curious—Ray Epp’s attorney’s names are noted in the introduction of the transcript, showing he was represented by John W. Blischak and Andrew Blischak, a father-son duo from Arizona.

John Blischak was an FBI agent in Ohio for 9 years before moving to Phoenix, Arizona, where he became an attorney.

Ray Epps had thousands of attorneys practicing law in Arizona who he could have chosen, but somehow Ray Epps, the man who, without explanation, was removed from the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list in connection with the January 6 “insurrection” (see screen capture below, before Epps was mysteriously removed from the list) chose an attorney who worked as an FBI agent for 9 years before becoming a lawyer.

John’s biography from his “about us” page says that Mr. Blischak worked for the FBI as an agent for nine years, first in Cleveland, then in Phoenix, before working as a Maricopa county prosecutor and eventually going into private practice in 1987:

Epps has claimed to be a conservative Trump supporter, but curiously, he hired the Blischaks to represent him, two men who re-tweeted a post supporting the notion that Police should have been able to de-escalate the George Floyd situation. Placing blame on cops instead of criminals is not usually a narrative pushed by conservatives, calling into question Epps’ choice of attorneys.

And now the current attorney for Ray Epps is the managing director of The 65 Project.

Michael Teter is currently representing Ray Epps in his lawsuit against FOX News.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/latest-ray-epps-attorney-who-is-suing-fox/

>>19200356

I agree the death penalty will stop a lot of this

>>19199971

Hold them in contempt already, stop pussyfooting around

>>19199896

Where’s your tag team idiot