Adam Herbets, FOX 13 🏔️
@AdamHerbets
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➤The First Amendment is first for a reason ➤Investigative Reporter, @FOX13 ➤Edward R. Murrow Award winner ➤2x SPJ Best TV Reporter in Utah ➤iteam @fox13now .com
Salt Lake City, UT
Joined July 2012
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A huge decision today by the State Records Committee.
@FOX13
wins 15 cases seeking access to 66 calendars of government officials
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BREAKING - Utah County Sheriff's Office seeks information on "ritualistic child sexual abuse" and child sex trafficking.
I've been investigating the case for months. I can confirm some subjects of the investigation are high-profile individuals.
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FBI: We have multiple leads all around the world involving the travel patterns of MULTIPLE people involved in this investigation.
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BREAKING - Six plaintiffs filing suit against Operation Underground Railroad are speaking now at a press conference in Salt Lake City.
Five are revealing their names for the first time
- Celeste Borys
- Mike Borys
- Sasha Hightower
- Mary Hall
- Kira Lynch
- Bree Righter
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BREAKING - A fifth lawsuit has been filed against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.
For the first time, Angel Studios and the Harmon Brothers are also being sued. That's the company behind Sound of Freedom.
Here comes another long thread.
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BREAKING — Sperm on alleged victim’s skirt “was a 100% match of (Tim) Ballard’s DNA” according to latest court filing.
Celeste Borys is one of the women accusing Tim Ballard of sexual assault. She used to be his executive assistant.
She and her attorneys say detectives told
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BREAKING - New lawsuit filed against Tim Ballard and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes.
It states Sound of Freedom had a sequel in the works called Cry of Freedom.
And it was partially written by Reyes.
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BREAKING 🧵 - A third lawsuit has been filed against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.
The plaintiff is Jordana Bree Righter from Virginia. She's a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who served as a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps.
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TONIGHT - Emails obtained by
@FOX13
show approximately $1 million exchanging hands between OUR and the Utah AG's Office.
These receipts contributed to OUR, Tim Ballard, and Sean Reyes all being subjects of a criminal fraud investigation.
So... is it appropriate for Reyes'
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𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:
Last night I reread each of the victim statements filed in the original lawsuit against Tim Ballard and OUR, now that 4 of 6 plaintiffs have decided to publicly reveal their names and stories.
These are the key points, below.👇
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Sheriff Joe Lombardo: We have found the two vehicles and we are almost 100% sure we have found the female person of interest.
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One of the targets of the investigation was a therapist previously charged with a series of sex crimes against young female family members.
The Utah County Attorney's Office dropped charges, and the man was not convicted.
Police reports indicate they had a taped confession.
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UPDATE - Utah County Attorney David Leavitt just held a press conference announcing he has not engaged in ritualistic sexual abuse or cannibalism.
Leavitt is calling on Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith to resign.
UCSO has not publicly named Leavitt as a suspect in any way.
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BREAKING - New sources, new documents identify how Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes was a subject of criminal fraud investigation along with Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.
I’ve been asking why he refuses to address this for years.
Full story at 9pm on
@FOX13
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FULL DOCUMENTS - Tim Ballard lied to donors, according to former
@OURRescue
employees
We are uploading 75 pages of records, which makes up less than 0.01% of the full criminal case file.
Marked as "CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION – UNDER SEAL" by Davis County, released by
@UtahAG
.
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This article includes a link to 37 pages of explicit text messages. Attorneys say they were sent by Tim Ballard to one of his female accusers.
Sometimes the messages are sexual. Sometimes they philosophize about untraditional views of the
@LDSChurch
.
“I like to throw some
New court documents filed in a lawsuit against Tim Ballard have revealed new details about his standing with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Sheriff: We believe the shooter's roommate was not involved. She has been located out of the country.
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Survivor Brett Bluth said he met the therapist through a referral from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to "cure" him of homosexuality
UCSO says "ritualistic sexual abuse" usually means "something that has religious overtones to it, or the organized nature of it."
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NEW - The State Records Committee is "disgusted" after learning
@UCSO
spent five months withholding public records related to a criminal investigation into Tim Ballard.
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Utah AG Sean Reyes recently changed his LinkedIn profile.
He now highlights his job as “Utah Attorney General” instead of “Associate Producer, Sound of Freedom.”
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UCSO...
- anticipates criminal charges
- declines to name any of the suspects, or number of suspects; being "as careful as we can"
- not answering whether any of the suspects are high profile in Utah
- says the timing of information release is not related to Utah politics
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UPDATE 🧵- Alleged victims of sex assault by Tim Ballard say they have "no confidence" in the
@UtahAG
's Office criminal investigation despite a meeting in which they listened to
@SeanReyesUT
speak for 45 minutes.
They are working with other law enforcement instead.
BREAKING (1/2) - An attorney for Celeste Borys says they are holding a press conference on Monday to announce they have now filed sexual assault complaints against Tim Ballard with five law enforcement agencies - one in Utah, four in California.
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(2) Several months ago, Tim Ballard’s psychic, Janet Russon, released a YouTube video explaining it might be because he shared a suitcase with Celeste.
Her attorneys tell me they never shared a suitcase.
So far, Tim Ballard’s team has not commented.
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Celeste Borys: It was all an elaborate ploy to justify Tim Ballard's wicked desires.
I know some will ask - why didn't you leave? Why didn't you speak up sooner?
I still don't know. The level of manipulation is hard to comprehend. He was protected by the Utah Attorney General.
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Get ready. Here's another long thread as I catch up on court documents in the Tim Ballard/ Katherine Ballard/ OUR civil cases.
As always, I will post documents + my takeaways in this thread. Here's my previous thread.
I'm currently catching up on some reading related to the four civil lawsuits against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.
I will post documents + my takeaways in this thread.
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(5) The lawsuit states Utah AG Sean Reyes "apparently believes" Tim Ballard was anointed as the "chosen one" and "has treated Ballard as being above the jurisdiction of governments and church authorities."
Reyes was a former bishop in the
@LDSChurch
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TONIGHT - Donors are upset after learning their money went to a psychic who claims to speak to Nephi instead of human trafficking victims
Now Utah AG Sean Reyes is justifying OUR's use of a psychic by saying police do the same
Our investigation proves... that's not exactly true
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@LDSchurch
Each of the plaintiffs say they’ve never seen Tim Ballard or OUR rescue a child from human trafficking.
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BREAKING (1/2) - An attorney for Celeste Borys says they are holding a press conference on Monday to announce they have now filed sexual assault complaints against Tim Ballard with five law enforcement agencies - one in Utah, four in California.
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TONIGHT - 20 Republicans, 6 Democrats have signed a letter calling for an investigative audit into the conduct of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, in part because of his relationship with Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.
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27 minutes into the 3rd video from Sgt. Bitsko's body camera
"Hey. Do you guys see anything in here that would indicate two guys?"
"I see a guy switching guns. Not reloading. Switching guns but not reloading."
After that they find Paddock's notes + Marilou Danley's player card
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NEW THREAD 🧵 - Court documents filed by attorneys for Celeste Borys state Tim Ballard raped her, or attempted to rape her, in...
1 - California
2 - Ecuador
3 - Mexico
4 - Florida
5 - London
6 - Utah
7 - Dominican Republic
8 - Nashville
9 - Washington DC
10 - Ohio
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BREAKING -
@UCSO
just arrested a suspect in ritualistic sex abuse case.
This is David Hamblin's previous mugshot. He's a former therapist who lost his license. He previously confessed to rape but had all charges dropped.
THREAD BELOW ⬇️
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(3) So far, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office has not commented.
“As a sex assault victim, Plaintiff believes she is entitled to the results.”
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(2) The plaintiff is Suzanne Whitehead.
"This cause of action arises out of Defendant Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes’ unconstitutional suppression of Plaintiff’s right of free speech."
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(4) The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has kept its case extremely close to the vest.
Earlier this year, the State Records Committee was “disgusted” UCSO did not release public records, namely a criminal investigation report.
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Celeste Borys is tearing up while talking about how she was used by Tim Ballard as part of the "Couples Ruse."
She says she was molested and sexually assaulted in 4 states.
"I wanted to fight the bad guys. Instead I became an easy target... I was left with a broken marriage."
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Bree Righter: They defrauded all of us. They defrauded multi-million dollar donors. But OUR is not rescuing children. They're using videos of us to make a morality play. The whole point of it was for Tim Ballard to extract donations from people.
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“That this all occurs less than one week before ballots drop in an election in which I am participating causes me tremendous concern.”
Above 👆🏼 UCSO specifically addressed that concern during yesterday’s interview, but not in reference to Leavitt or anyone in particular.
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Celeste Borys was Tim Ballard's executive assistant.
She traveled with him and was the closest person to him at OUR.
"I also served as his personal therapist at all hours of the day and night... to navigate his personal meltdowns and threats of suicide."
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(4) It also includes this photo of Sean Reyes hugging Tim Ballard.
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Mike Borys: What has been taken from us cannot be replaced. I pray that Tim and OUR are held accountable.
"You are finally being exposed for who you are. Your ruse is up."
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(10) Here's the full TV report.
It started with a white stain on an unwashed leather skirt. Now one of the women accusing Tim Ballard of sexual assault says the Utah State Crime Lab has a 100% DNA match.
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(5) “Plaintiff and her counsel have made diligent efforts to obtain a certified copy of the DNA results…”
“Defendant Ballard has, both figuratively and literally, unclean hands.”
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BREAKING - This candidate for the Utah AG's Office has been charged with bribery.
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Watch my investigations that led up to the resignation of Utah AG Sean Reyes
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Mike Borys says Tim Ballard and OUR twisted a noble cause to fulfill his fantasies.
"We are not pedophile enablers. We are not the deep state or the Godless left."
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(3) The "factual allegations" begin with this screenshot and quote from Utah AG Sean Reyes rapping.
"Get too close, my words will singe ya. Mess with me, I'll get revenge, ya."
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(7) "As admitted to by Tim Ballard on his podcast with General Reyes, General Reyes acted as Tim Ballard’s personal counsel and OUR’s general counsel, all the while claiming to serve the people of Utah as the Attorney General."
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BREAKING - Utah AG Sean Reyes will not seek re-election.
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Kira Lynch: I am truly devastated by the situation. I used to have complete faith in OUR and Tim Ballard. Now it's completely decimated.
The situations I put in by Tim - the manipulation, gas lighting, sexual assault, sexual abuse - has had a devastating impact on my life.
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Kira Lynch: When Sound of Freedom came out, it started creating physical reactions in my body - I felt sick every time I saw an advertisement or whenever the film came up in conversations. I have severe PTSD.
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(27) "Ballard offered the shelter $5,000 to cover up the fact that they re-exploited this young woman, to which the head of the shelter declined the money and responded, 'Sorry, our girls are not for sale.'"
Does that slogan sound familiar? Sound of Freedom.
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This article by
@BrandyZadrozny
identifies Utah County Attorney David Leavitt
@Leavitt_RJI
as a victim of “baseless” accusations.
Yes, the article mentions me.
🧵 I’ll be posting a few of my thoughts in this thread below.
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3. "This is a case of a young Colombian woman who was tragically condemned by the Defendants to the entire world as being a child trafficker without any due process or due diligence by the Defendants."
Complaint is 369 pages. Read along with me, below!
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(6) Her attorneys sent this letter to SLCO District Attorney Sim Gill and Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray.
“Celeste wants to obtain these results before they could possibly disappear.”
“It is known that Ballard has had a cozy relationship with
@UCSO
in the past”
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(14) Lawsuit states Utah AG Sean Reyes' staff helped Tim Ballard discredit the women who accused him of sex abuse.
Plaintiffs say they have a copy of the recording.
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2. The plaintiffs are Kely Johana Suarez Moya and Luz Miriam Moya Solano.
They are represented by the same attorneys who filed the previous four cases.
Other defendants include Tim Ballard's wife (Katherine Ballard) and Tim Ballard's psychic (Janet Russon).
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I keep finding unreported cases of children being sexually assaulted in Utah psychiatric hospitals.
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BREAKING - I can confirm this video of Utah County Attorney David Leavitt, discussing his "strategy" to adopt a Native American infant, was submitted into evidence in 2020 as part of a Homeland Security human trafficking investigation.
My full investigation airs tonight.
@FOX13
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(11) Lawsuit states Utah AG Sean Reyes helped Tim Ballard obtain several positions in the President Trump White House... and that he agreed to not run for US Senate so that Ballard could run.
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Kira Lynch: It's humiliating to share the most mortifying moments of my life publicly, but it had to be done to put a stop to Tim Ballard and OUR.
The truth is finally coming to light, and the evil - pure evil - can no longer hide.
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Business is down over 65% at this Haitian food truck
“It was unbelievable because somebody literally came in and said, ‘Cat or dog?’”
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(6) The lawsuit includes several quotes from the Tim Ballard podcast.
"As admitted to by Tim Ballard on his podcast with General Reyes produced after Ballard’s departure from OUR, General Reyes gave Tim Ballard credibility and vouched that his cosplay was real."
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TONIGHT - New audio recordings with OUR employees show why Suzanne Whitehead believes the nonprofit lied to the public about saving children.
She is one of nine plaintiffs. Watch
@FOX13
at 9pm.
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(4) The lawsuit goes on to state that she witnessed OUR trying to create a demand for underage girls instead of saving them.
These photos are from an "undercover mission" or "fishing trip" called "Operation Marcel" which "had no clear or discernible purpose."
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Kira Lynch: Tim Ballard told me he had contacts everywhere, with the Utah Attorney General, the police. He made it sound like people were listening to our conversations with all sorts of electronics.
I didn't want Tim Ballard's actions to be the downfall of the organization.
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WATCH — Judge to determine whether evidence against Tim Ballard was actually “stolen”
One of the pieces of evidence has my face on it.
One page includes allegations Katherine Ballard tampered with a witness via email by referring to her husband as the “second iteration of
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(9) Sean Reyes' edits to the "Cry of Freedom" script are described in the lawsuit as "very self-aggrandizing."
"energetic - Hawaiian/Hispanic/Asian of larger build - former MMA fighter now elected official - in conservative suit behind large rosewood desk in ceremonial office.."
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(8) Lawsuit states Utah AG Sean Reyes helped Ballard become "a character of mythical proportions with unquestioned legitimacy."
"You are the one history books should write about as being just like those great abolitionists throughout American History and our world history..."
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Bree Righter: Tim Ballard was obsessed with the couples ruse. It was the only thing he actually cared about in my interview when I joined OUR.
Her story is documented in this lawsuit, filed today
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Kira Lynch: I'm so proud to be here with these women, constantly reminding myself of my strength and bravery. I'm so proud I came forward. I will not allow OUR or Tim Ballard to treat anyone else the way I was treated. I will not stand by and let him hurt anyone else.
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(24) Why did the
@ElizSmart
Foundation refuse to work with OUR?
Lawsuit states it's because Ed Smart felt OUR was "dishonest" and that he felt "sick" after Operation Toussaint because OUR lied about rescuing the girls in the film.
"He knew someone else had rescued them."
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BREAKING - Gov. Spencer Cox responds to my psychiatric hospital investigations.
We keep finding unreported cases of children being sexually assaulted. One facility has lost its license four times, yet it remains open. I asked if he's happy with the level of state oversight.
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Sheriff Geoff Dean (2):
-No idea so far on a motive
-No indication so far that he targeted someone in particular at
#Borderline
Bar and Grill
-Gun was purchased legally
-Shooter was a USMC Veteran
-We believe he shot and killed himself
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TONIGHT - An update to what we know so far about the criminal investigation into Operation Underground Railroad and Tim Ballard.
He was so unhappy with the questions in this interview... that he walked out.
9pm on
@FOX13
.
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(19) "General Reyes is refusing to release his calendar to the press because it is believed that it will show how little time he spends in his Attorney General position and also the locations where he spends his time."
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Bree Righter: I'm a former marine and a licensed clinical social worker. I've helped victims of human trafficking for 10 years. Tim Ballard knew he could manipulate that. It was obvious I could be manipulated because how much I cared.
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28 minutes into the 3rd video from Sgt. Bitsko's body camera.
"I'm really thinking this was just a one guy thing."
"What about all the other calls? Is that just people panicking?"
#1October
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Celeste Borys:
She was Tim Ballard's executive assistant. She accuses him of sexual assault, trafficking her to create demand for more victims rather than saving children.
She says some of the hotel rooms booked while they were "undercover" used her real name.
𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝙸𝙲⬇️
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@UCSO
(7) Celeste’s attorneys have also attached these (redacted) text messages as an exhibit — to show efforts to receive the DNA verification letter.
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They Made ‘Sound of Freedom’ a Hit — But Were They Deceiving Their Audience?
Rolling Stone reports Angel Studios may have violated financial regulations and could invite scrutiny from either the SEC or FTC.
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VIDEO: FBI states there are multiple leads around the world involving the travel patterns of multiple people in this investigation.
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4. Both of the plaintiffs live in Colombia.
Luz Miriam Moya Solano is Kely Johana Suarez Moya's mother.
The complaint begins with a quote from Mark Twain: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."
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(3) "Ballard was present and refused to call an ambulance because he wanted no record of the event occurring at OUR’s training."
Lawsuit states she now has double vision, swelling, large floaters, irreparable eye discomfort, PTSD.
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(13) Lawsuit states Reyes' role in OUR gave "political credibility that allowed him to act as a 'blocker,' quashing complaints... so that Ballard could carry out his purposes to raise staggering amounts of money and funnel it for his sexual escapades and his for-profit companies"
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(12) These text messages show Utah AG Sean Reyes trying to coordinate the US Senate announcement with Tim Ballard.
"We want to build up some anticipation here in Utah. If the Romney announcement happens."
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BREAKING - A psychiatric hospital known by some as "The Rape Hospital" has lost its license for the fourth time, yet its door remain open.
The CEO is also no longer with the company. Employees tell me they're not sure if he resigned or was fired.
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(8) Utah Crime Lab found Tim Ballard's sperm on his assistant's skirt, plaintiffs say
Full story, with full documents + exhibits embedded
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9 - Then the article labels me as a “Fox News reporter.”
I have never worked for
@FoxNews
. I work for a local news station with no right or left-leaning bias. KSTU is an affiliate owned by EW Scripps. Affiliate means we only have local FOX programming, like the Simpsons and NFL.
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(22) "It is believed that offering foreign officials as the Attorney General of Utah, a private screening of a movie in which General Reyes had a financial interest, may be a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act"
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UPDATE - The founder of this nonprofit said she was dedicated to fighting human trafficking.
Now she's been convicted on multiple felony charges, including fraud.
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(10) Another line from the screenplay, included in lawsuit against Utah AG Sean Reyes...
"With you, the feds are not going to be able to come down on him like a ton of bricks-- no matter what happens. Not with the former young lawyer of the year for the United States."
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UPDATE -
@UCSO
has received more than 130 tips related to this case so far.
That number doesn't include others who called but were so scared to give information that they started crying and hung up the phone.
BREAKING - Utah County Sheriff's Office seeks information on "ritualistic child sexual abuse" and child sex trafficking.
I've been investigating the case for months. I can confirm some subjects of the investigation are high-profile individuals.
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Utah high school coach accused of telling female athletes they would be to blame if sexually assaulted
Another teacher, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, independently confirmed the coach’s comments.
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UPDATE - A spokesperson for Tim Ballard has sent me this video from Operation Triple Take. He says the video should raise questions about the veracity of the plaintiff's claims in the lawsuit.
"The conversation is clearly about sex with young, underaged girls – plural... the
BREAKING - A fifth lawsuit has been filed against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.
For the first time, Angel Studios and the Harmon Brothers are also being sued. That's the company behind Sound of Freedom.
Here comes another long thread.
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Statement from
@Steelers
about its head coach's relationship with
@OURRescue
:
"Mike Tomlin has not been associated with their organization for several years and won’t be commenting any further."
This ESPN story shows him flying around in a helicopter with Tim Ballard in Haiti.
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UPDATE: Court documents list Katherine Ballard and Radd Berrett as new defendants in October 10th lawsuit filed by Celeste Borys and Mike Borys.
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BREAKING - Governor Spencer Cox confirms the condemnation of Tim Ballard by
@LDSChurch
was 100% legitimate.
He has been following the news and says what Ballard did to women is unconscionable, if true.
I will post the full clip here soon.
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(15) Lawsuit states Utah AG Sean Reyes helped Tim Ballard gain access to the upper leadership of the
@LDSChurch
.
"General Reyes allowed Tim Ballard to publish a photo of the two of them publicly praying for a supposed OP."
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