The Story Of Tim Ballard, The Film's Real-Life Inspiration

"Sound of Freedom" follows Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) as he embarks on a dangerous mission to save a young girl from a Colombian child trafficking operation. He even quits his job at the Department of Homeland Security to carry out the rescue mission, similar to how events reportedly played out in the real world. However, the movie only chronicles one case that prompted Ballard to leave the government agency and go out on his own.

While speaking to The Daily Signal, Ballard explained that his federal superiors told him to abort missions in Haiti and Colombia, which he refused to do as he felt it defeated the purpose of his duties. "I was told, 'Come home,' on both of them," Ballard recalled. "They were both major cases, a significant hit against human traffickers would have taken place... There I am, thinking, 'They're asking me to come home once again, and I'm not gonna do it. I'm gonna stay, and that means I have to quit my job."

During the aforementioned interview, Ballard revealed that he was able to carry out the missions thanks to funding from Glenn Beck, a conservative political commentator who's worked for CNN, Fox News, and TheBlaze TV. "Glenn Beck, bless his heart, raised the money for us so that we could even do the operations," Ballard said. "I had no money to do it." Afterward, Ballard went on to found the Operation Underground Railroad organization. However, that's arguably what led to the former agent becoming associated with conspiracy theories and controversy.