U.S. Southern Command headquarters puts the kibosh on ‘Sound of Freedom’ screenings

Two separate screenings of the anti-trafficking movie “Sound of Freedom” were canceled by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) amid critics decrying the religious overtones in the film.

Despite left-wing efforts to brand the movie as “Q-Anon” content, it has managed to pull in over $200m and become one of the most talked about films on social media. Unfortunately, the narrative around the movie has led some to believe that it has a link to “an ideology of extremism” and is therefore not appropriate for certain audiences.

Human trafficking and exploitation consultant Sunnetta Slaughter raised concerns that the Christian messages would infringe on the demand that military employees remain apolitical while at work.

“What is the idea and the ideology behind putting this on a military installation? Is this some form of indoctrination into an ideology of extremism?” Slaughter asked, according to the Military Times.

The outlet noted that the showings had been scheduled for Aug. 28 and Oct. 19 and all personnel were invited. The flier announcing the screenings even noted that the film and its messages were not necessarily being endorsed by the Army or SOUTHCOM, but that wasn’t enough for some.

Once the event had been pulled, another announcement was made explaining the decision as trying to “prevent the appearance of copyright infringement.”

“The movie’s central theme and its connection to SOUTHCOM’s AOR and our Human Rights Office (HRO) Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program are inescapable and will serve to raise awareness of the prevalence of trafficking in human persons and sexual abuse and exploitation within our area of responsibility,” SOUTHCOM wrote.

However, spokesperson Jose Ruiz defended the initial decision to screen the movies, citing important subject matter as well.

“The subject of the movie is something that’s of great concern to the command, in that it follows as part of its mission of countering transnational criminal organizations,” he explained. “Because of the way these transnational criminal organizations exploit migrants — the hopes of migrants — in ways that end up being serious violations to their human rights, and unfortunately in some cases lead to the deaths of the migrants.”

Ultimately, it appears to many that SOUTHCOM caved to the demands of leftists who have repeatedly tried to malign the anti-trafficking film.

Sierra Marlee

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