Over the weekend, a large group of angry left-wingers tried to stop the production of our next film. Why? Because the movie is about an ICE agent who is attacked while arresting an illegal immigrant.
In Livingston, Montana, a blue dot in a small town in a bright red state, we started production without any armed security. It’s a relatively crime-free small town. But protesters disrupted filming from day one, and over the next two weeks we went from zero to six armed guards.
At that time, protesters targeted our people with vehicles. One man drove a pickup truck through our barricade at approximately 30 mph and rushed toward our cast and crew, screaming, “You are fascists.” Another man drove a Jeep toward two security managers and pinned them against the wall. A third man swerved toward a guard, then returned to grab a security manager’s gear.
One protester walked into a cordoned-off set with a megaphone and yelled out fake “move” and “cut” cues during a vehicle stunt that were meant to prevent performers from being hit by cars.
Crew and security were followed to their rental, encountered in the restaurant and told their tires would be slashed. One protester even impersonated a crew member on set. A local Facebook group posted that our producer should be Shot in the head. Security captured a man in black, wearing a balaclava and carrying a duffel bag, standing outside our set at night. Our medical staff had to treat 18 cast and crew members for respiratory issues, eye irritation and allergic reactions after a woman released an airborne bag of seed pods above the set.
But here’s where things get even crazier: After all this, the mob also had the Livingston City Council come after us.
Commissioner Jessica Wilcox’s “first question” was whether Livingston “really wanted to[s] Approval of projects requiring armed guards. Commissioner James Willich said the production was not good for people’s “health, safety and well-being.” Commissioner Melissa Nootz noted that the police officers on the set looked “serious.”
Yes. They were serious because people were threatening to shoot our producers.
Finally, Commissioner Cindy Daniels spilled the beans: “This is not a Hallmark movie.” Residents complained about “simulated violence,” “hired guns,” and “triggering” scenes. So…a Hallmark romance retains its license, but a Daily Wire movie about immigration enforcement loses it.
Producer Dallas Sonnier speaks to Livingston, Montana
Last Saturday, with five and a half days left until filming, the city council decided to suspend our permit. This violates the First Amendment. Viewpoint discrimination, plain and simple.
I know because I’ve seen this logic many times at the university where I was supposed to speak—a mob threatens violence, and then the government cancels the event. Typical heckler no.
We didn’t break the law. We did not breach the license conditions. We didn’t endanger anyone. The city just decided it was easier to silence a filmmaker than police a mob. We told them we would get back to work the next day no matter what – every lost day of shooting was costing us six figures. But on Tuesday night, after a seven-hour meeting in which about a hundred people aired their false grievances, the council realized it was about to be sued and reinstated our license.
There was one condition: we had to place black fabric screens around any “violent activity” because of the “psychological impact” it could have on the community.
That’s right: an emotional wall. Not even a joke.
Imagine a conservative town shutting down a liberal movie about the evils of ICE. For weeks we heard nothing but banned books and banned ideas. But the cancellation of The Daily Telegraph was celebrated in the entertainment media.
Will Sommer of The Bulwark published an article titled “Montana Town Tells Ben Shapiro to Get Out.” The AV Club calls us an “ultraconservative white nationalist media company.” (We make movies featuring black, Hispanic and Korean heroes. Make it count.) The Daily Beast called it a “crazy MAGA movie” and a “MAGA fever dream.” The New Republic called the film “incredibly offensive.”
They didn’t even hide the ball. These picky fools only want to ban things they don’t like. It’s that simple.
They hate the Daily Telegraph and everything we stand for. But much to their dismay, we’re not going anywhere. Every time some soft snowflake complains that our movie is “triggering,” we know we’re doing something right.
A group of protesters tried and failed to block us? Here’s another trophy on our mantelpiece.
Our upcoming film is almost complete. It will be released. It will kick ass. This is a movie that no one else had the guts to make, and when we finish this one we’ll start shooting the next one. Alongside this is The Daily Telegraph’s five new programmes, our non-stop midterm coverage and our stunning editorial output every day.
Stay tuned because we’re just getting started.
Your subscriptions keep this fight going, not just for coverage and programming, but because the left is desperate to put us out of business. Free speech is nothing more than a talking point to them, but an everyday constitutional practice to us.
Join us. The only reason they’re trying to stop us is because we’re winning.