Utah AG and RAGA Chair Sean Reyes Facing Major Questions in New Lawsuit Over Controversial Sex Trafficking Movie
November 28, 2023
Washington, DC — A new lawsuit filed against RAGA Chair and Utah AG Sean Reyes raises major allegations about the attorney general’s involvement in the controversial sex trafficking movie. The Salt Lake Tribune reports, “A Utah woman is suing Sean Reyes, accusing the Utah attorney general of using his official position to try to silence her criticism of the anti-child-trafficking exploits of Operation Underground Railroad and its founder, Tim Ballard. Ballard and OUR are also named as defendants in the civil suit.”
“The lawsuit states that the woman, Suzanne Whitehead, works for a nonprofit that does anti-trafficking work in Nepal. According to the suit, filed Monday in 3rd District Court, Whitehead had publicly challenged OUR’s claims about how many children the group had rescued, the quality of the care the children received afterward, and accused OUR of taking credit for work she says her organization had done.”
“Reyes’ friendship with Ballard spans a decade, with the attorney general helping OUR raise money, appearing at speaking engagements and promotional videos, participating in OUR rescue operations and receiving an associate producer credit on the movie ‘Sound of Freedom,’ which is based on Ballard’s origin story.”
“The lawsuit also includes an email Reyes sent to Ballard in which he proposes a scene for a movie based on Ballard’s story that features himself as a character — Attorney General David Reyes an ‘early 40′s — energetic — Hawaiian/Hispanic/Asian of larger build — former MMA fighter now elected official’ — in the movie and highlighting his own involvement in anti-trafficking efforts.”
“The suit says that when ‘Sound of Freedom’ opened in July, Reyes attended premieres in Utah, Idaho, Tennessee, Japan, the Philippines, and a private screening with former President Donald Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey. A text in the suit indicates that the production company covered Reyes’ travel costs to the event in Tennessee.”
“This marks the fourth recent lawsuit naming Ballard and OUR as defendants. Seven plaintiffs have filed a pair of civil lawsuits against the OUR founder in recent weeks accusing Ballard of sexual misconduct and assault and another was filed last week by Bree Righter, alleging OUR’s recklessness led to her eye socket being shattered while training for an operation at OUR’s gym in Draper.”
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