SOUTHCOM Says Sound of Freedom Showing Canceled to 'Avoid Establishing a Legally Unsupportable Precedent'’Micaela Burrow
Investigative Reporter, Defense
September 21, 2023 2:34 PM ET
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U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) canceled on-base showings of the film “Sound of Freedom” because the plans accidentally violated a Department of Defense (DOD) regulation, and the command does not plan to reschedule the showings, a spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In August, SOUTHCOM nixed two free showings at U.S. Army Garrison Miami of the movie, which depicts anti-child sex trafficking operations in areas within SOUTHCOM’s responsibility, according to screenshots of emails obtained by the DCNF. The showings had been planned for Aug. 28 and Oct. 19. SOUTHCOM initially said “copyright issues” required the base to cancel the showings.
But SOUTHCOM unknowingly violated the Army’s own rules when initially reaching out to the film’s creator, Angel Studios, for a copy of the film, Army Col. Emanuel Ortiz, a SOUTHCOM spokesperson, told the DCNF on Tuesday.
In soliciting the film, the command violated a regulation that states only a separate DOD organization, the Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), is allowed to obtain movies from distributors for showing on Army, Air Force or Space Force garrisons, Ortiz said. (AAFES has sponsored free showings of feature films in the past, including a May showing of the superhero flick “The Flash” at five military bases, a DOD media release shows.)
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/09/21/southcom-says-sound-of-freedom-showing-canceled-to-avoid-establishing-a-legally-unsupportable-precedent/
