In a development so far-fetched that there’s no way it could possibly be anything other than 100 percent true, an investor in the anti-child trafficking thriller and box office phenomenon Sound of Freedom was recently arrested and charged with child kidnapping.
While there were thousands upon thousands of people who contributed to the project through crowdfunding, it’s still an unsavory development for somebody with their name in the credits of the biggest breakout sensation of the year to be linked with a crime that isn’t technically the same as the issues represented onscreen, but still a felony.
Needless to say, Angel Studios moved quickly to distance itself from both Marta and the controversy, and the company’s statement also has the benefit of being entirely accurate and unequivocally true.
“Angel Studios adhered to the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations in allowing 6,678 people to invest an average of $501 each into the launch of Sound of Freedom. Just as anyone can invest in the stock market, everyone who meets the legal criteria can invest in Angel Studios projects. One of the perks of investing was the ability to be listed in the credits.”
Marta’s attorney Scott Rosenblum was additionally contacted by Deadline for comment, where he naturally protested his client’s innocence.
“I don’t understand how they’re charging him with this. He has nothing to do with kidnapping anyone.”
It likely won’t have an impact on Sound of Freedom‘s ongoing dominance of the box office, but it’s an unsavory footnote to what’s been a quite frankly astonishing run so far.