MAGA influencer Tim Ballard, the self-styled anti-sex trafficking activist who’s faced multiple allegations of sexual abuse, has been hit with a federal lawsuit accusing him of human trafficking.
Ballard, a far-right conspiracy theorist, was the inspiration for last year’s QAnon-adjacent film “Sound of Freedom,” a fictionalized version of his group’s purported anti-sex trafficking activities. It has helped transform him into a MAGA hero, and Trump said at a 2023 rally that the film has inspired some of his policy proposals.
Amid allegations that he coerced several women to act as his “wives” and perform sex acts with him, Ballard resigned last September from the Utah-based organization he founded, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). (Ballard went on to work with a separate anti-sex trafficking organization.) Several women sued Ballard for sexual misconduct last year. He has vehemently denied the claims; some of the suits have since been dismissed, but others remain. He’s also been the subject of several criminal probes (the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office told the New York Times in September it was aware of “pending criminal investigations into Tim Ballard”), but no charges have been filed to date.
Ballard filed defamation suits against seven of his accusers earlier this month. Now, six of them have filed another lawsuit accusing Ballard of human trafficking.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim Ballard used a deceptive tactic known as the “couples ruse” — pitched to them as a way to catch potential sex traffickers — to sexually exploit them.
“Under the guise of philanthropic missions or ‘operations’ aimed at rescuing women and children from human trafficking, Ballard used his position of influence and trust to exploit vulnerable individuals,” the suit says. “Ballard specifically targeted women for sex, labor, and other services in violation of federal anti-trafficking laws.” The suit defines “the couples ruse” as “a deceptive strategy in which female operatives were required to simulate intimate relationships with Ballard to purportedly fool traffickers.”
The plaintiffs allege Ballard boosted his legitimacy in their eyes by introducing them to powerful social and political figures, such as Utah Rep. Burgess Owens and right-wing commentator Glenn Beck, but that Ballard abused their trust to coerce them into sex acts.
The suit continues: [A]s he gained confidence, he claimed that posing as a romantic couple, including engaging in sexual touching and sexual acts, was essential to avoid suspicion from traffickers, whom Ballard portrayed as omnipotent. However, it became clear that the COUPLES RUSE was simply a false pretense for Ballard to groom, manipulate, and sexually assault the women participating in the operations.
The suit alleges a pattern of disturbing behavior, claiming that Ballard would talk to the women about his wife’s unwillingness to perform certain sex acts with him due to her religious beliefs, and that he claimed these conversations were necessary to improving the couples ruse. The suit accuses Ballard of coercing the women into sexual encounters by pressuring them to “practice” physical intimacy. It also alleges Ballard manipulated them by pitting them against one another. The suit alleges texts between Ballard and some of the accusers appear to blur the line between anti-trafficking work and a private sexual relationship. The suit also includes an audio clip of Ballard’s lawyer telling a judge that Ballard’s sperm was on an accuser’s skirt because he masturbated into it. A spokesperson for Operation Underground Railroad, which is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, told Fox 13 that the new accusations “are recycled claims that have been dismissed repeatedly. We are confident they will be dismissed again.” Ballard’s lawyer echoed that response, saying his accusers have engaged in “desperate forum shopping” to rehash “the same allegations which one judge after another has called inconsistent and unsupported by facts.” As this all plays out, let us not ignore how bad this looks for the MAGA movement, which has made a habit of baselessly accusing liberals of being “groomers” and sex traffickers: One of the biggest peddlers of conspiracy theories about human trafficking has been accused human trafficking.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. Recommended
