U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM, has canceled two planned showings of the Christian thriller “Sound of Freedom” at its headquarters in Doral, Fla., the command confirmed Wednesday.
The summer’s surprise box office hit about a former federal agent rescuing children from sex trafficking has earned nearly $182 million in the U.S. and Canada since its July 4 release.
But the movie has garnered negative headlines after its lead actor, Jim Caviezel, publicly linked the film’s anti-exploitation plotline to unproven Q-Anon theories.
That has placed the movie squarely amid America’s culture wars, one that SOUTHCOM seemingly is looking to stay out of by canceling the screenings.
The free screenings, originally planned for Aug. 28 and Oct. 19, were canceled after Military Times inquired about the event, according to the outlet. Critics have also questioned the showing of a political-leaning and heavily Christian faith-based movie on a federal base — especially as troops are required to remain apolitical at work.
In a statement to The Hill, SOUTHCOM said the screenings were canceled after a review of “applicable laws and regulations governing the use of materials subject to copyright and intellectual property laws for official or recreational purposes.”
“Insofar as the film is concerned, following this review, a determination was made to cancel the screenings,” Army Col. Emanuel Ortiz said in the statement. “Individuals interested in viewing the film can still do so at a local theater of their choosing. The now canceled screening was intended to help raise awareness of the nexus between [transnational criminal organizations] and human rights abuses they frequently commit as part of their human smuggling activities,” which sometimes falls within SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility.
The screening was first announced in a flyer emailed by U.S. Army Garrison-Miami (USAG-M), which invited all locally based military personnel to attend, Military Times reported.